PARIS (Sputnik) - France is coordinating its actions with European partners on the matter of Schengen visas for Russian nationals, a representative of the country's Foreign Ministry said at a briefing on Thursday.
"The common Schengen visa policy falls within the competence of the European Union. France is closely coordinating its actions with its European partners," the representative said at a briefing in response to a question about France's reaction to the proposal to ban the issuance of Schengen visas to Russians.
The German government earlier submitted a proposal to ban the issuance of Schengen visas to Russian citizens as part of the seventh sanctions package.
Moscow considers the proposals to ban the issuance of Schengen visas to Russian citizens a manifestation of chauvinism, Deputy Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Information and Press Department Ivan Nechaev said, adding that such statements by European politicians would have consequences and "they should be held accountable for."
As stressed by Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev, the proposal to deprive Russians of the right to get Schengen visas contradicts the EU's obligations in the field of human rights and the regulations of the Union itself.
The Estonian authorities have made a decision to ban Russian citizens with Estonia-issued Schengen visas from entering its territory, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu said on Thursday.
The European Commission said last week that the 26-nation borderless Schengen area cannot completely stop issuing visas to Russians. It suggested that EU member states could decide for themselves whether to consider each application for a short-term tourist visa on an individual basis.
