Translated material
Affection of Europe
Czech President Milos Zeman announced the need to cancel visas for citizens of the Russian Federation. But in Brussels different plans
Passport control stand at Bucharest International Airport /Photo: Mihai Barbu /Reuters
“It is necessary to eliminate visas, for example, with Russia. Why engage in such a bureaucracy that is associated with visas? " -Bits ITAR-TASS the words of Milos Zeman, who called the visa barrier "excess and excessive."
"We think so too!" -Anna S. smiles (her colleagues and her colleagues strictly banned the indication of her names-“All Off the Record, you can quote only the Commissioner Malmstrod”), a responsible employee of the General Director for Internal Affairs of the European Commission. The guess “cancel the visas?” As soon as the official, the official completed the idea, is completed in my head: “Therefore, they have developed new more flexible visa rules for citizens of third countries who want to enter the Schengen zone.”
It's economy, Stupid
In a matter of days before the EU summit (June 26), which will be resolved about the next sanctions against Russia, officials in Brussels are well -being and welcoming (despite the sharp cooling of relations with Moscow, at the seminar on visa policy, the most journalists - from Russia), treat the sandwiches with salmon and all their appearance cannot be responsible for their actions for their actions for actions The states in Ukraine, the regime of mutual trips will not suffer, on the contrary, Russian tourists are waiting for pleasant innovations.
And with these words they put in front of you on the table beautiful neat daddy, in which the last report of the European Commission of the European Parliament and the EU Council entitled “A more thoughtful visa policy for economic growth” - A Smarter Visa Policy for Economic Growth.
Yeah, that's where the dog is buried. “This is an economy, a fool” - this is how the poster once said to the election headquarters of Bill Clinton: knowledge of economic realities is the key to success in any business.
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The European Commission proposes to issue multivisions without fail to those who at least twice went to Europe on one -time
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Having turned the report, having talked on the merits of the case with the European officials on the sidelines, you come to the conclusion: the European Union really experiences a lack of free funds and therefore decided to turn tourism into a serious article of income. It is unreasonable to continue and continue to rely on the currently traveling “golden billion”: the potential of this category has long been exhausted. Moreover, in other regions, countries with millions of hungry travels are “rising” - Russia, India, China, Saudi Arabia ... And Russia set a record: almost 7 million statements for the Schengen visa in 2013. Forecast for 2015 - 8 million applications.
The European Commission conducted a study that showed: only in 2012 the Schengen countries, 6.6 million potential tourists were missing due to too hard visa rules. At the same time, the complete abolition of visas at the cost of a disposable Schengen visa in € 35 - from the point of view of the Eurobodge, is also a short -sighted step. So, the optimal intermediate option is required. Which?
“We propose to significantly simplify the process of obtaining a Schengen multivisa,” explains Anna S. According to her, “before there were no clear criteria for issuing a multivis, a purely individual approach and subjectivist assessments of a particular consular worker prevailed. Now we propose to introduce mandatory criteria (Mandatory Criteria): if, for example, a tourist from Russia at least twice during a year entered and left the Schengen zone on a one -time visa, then the next stage is obliged to give him a three -year visa, and after its expiration - five -year -old. ” The owners of such visas will automatically receive the status of a regular traveler (Regular Traveller), which will be backed up by a positive “visa history”.
New visa initiatives will bring € 130 billion to the EU treasury over the next 5 years and will help create 1.3 million jobs
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At the same time, the “history” of each applicant will be stored in the newly established special database (Visa Information System (VIS), with which computers of embassies and consulates of the European Union around the world will be connected. “Now, in fact, there is no such base, many decisions are not issued by a hunch, a person could go to the Schengen zones for ten years and receive a one -time visa each time,” explains the executive official of the European Commission Frederick P.
According to his colleagues, the introduction of new rules will ensure the growth of tourist flow from Russia, China, India, Turkey, Ukraine and Belarus by 30-60%. And this, in turn, will bring € 130 billion to the EU treasury over the next five years and will create an additional 1.3 million jobs in such sectors of the economy as tourism, transport and services.
“The economic measurement of the visa policy of the European Union comes to the forefront, although, of course, not to the detriment of security and border protection,” the European Commissioner for the internal affairs of Cecilia Malmstraem told reporters - participants in the seminar.
Other innovations
In the year before last, the European Commission allowed Greece to give short -term Schengen visas to tourists directly on the border, who, resting on the Turkish coast, decided to visit the Greek islands at the same time. “It was a pilot project, but its results surpassed all expectations: the tourist flow has grown three times, while the security of the external borders of the European Union was not at all affected,” says the former Genconsul of France, Michelle D., now decided to extend the experiment to the entire Schengen space.
In relation to Russians, innovations may mean the following: our tourists in the Kaliningrad region, who will want to visit a neighboring Lithuania, will be able to get a Schengen visa directly on the Russian-Lithuanian border.
But the most radical measure, perhaps, concerns the expansion of the regime of stay inside the Schengen zone. Now it is 90 days out of every 180. For those who would like to linger in Europe for a longer period, up to a year-a maximum of two, and with a visit to at least two Schengen countries, it is proposed to introduce “Touring-Visa” (Touring-Visa). This relief can be especially relevant for touring artists and athletes with a tense schedule of competition.
A vicious circle
| *Not to be confused with negotiations on the simplification of the visa regime (Visa Faculation Agreements - VFA), which Moscow has been conducting since 2007 |
So after all: is it possible to count on the complete cancellation of visas in the near future? The officials of the European Commission are evading the answer to this question: there is, they say, a clear mechanism for promoting a visa -free regime (Visa Liberation Dialogue - VLD), in which Russia is formally involved in the last two and a half years*. “Everything else depends on the will of politicians. Both European and Russian, ”said one of the officials.
Everything is so. The problem, however, is that the deterioration of relations through Russia-the EU because of Ukraine actually froze VLD. Not to mention the fact that only citizens of states who have stable and non-conflict relations with neighboring countries can count on the visa-free regime of entry into the EU, according to the letter VLD. This clearly does not apply to today Russia.
On the other hand, when politicians, like Milos Zeman, are expressed in the spirit that in relations with Russia, 17 million citizens of which have passports, Europeans are most reasonable to rely on “soft power” (and the visa -free regime is just such a force), they are instantly referred to the regulation established by the European Commission.
And the circle, alas, is closed.