Russians can claim asylum in EU, bloc's migration spox says

Individuals trying to flee Russia after President Vladimir Putin's partial mobilisation order are entitled to claim asylum in the European Union, a spokesperson for the European Commission said on September 22.

"This is an unprecedented situation," Anita Hipper, a spokesperson responsible for migration said, Daily Sabah reports.

Applications would need to be considered on a case-by-case basis, Hipper said, adding work was ongoing with EU member states to find a joint approach.

Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky struck a different tone on September 22, however, saying the country would not give refuge to Russians who refused military service.

He understands that Russians are fleeing their country because of the "increasingly desperate decisions" of their president, Lipavsky told the CTK agency on September 22.

However, those who do not want to fulfil their obligations toward their own state do not yet fulfil the conditions for the granting of a humanitarian visa, he explained.

A potential wave of Russians fleeing mobilisation has become a matter of debate in the EU since the partial mobilisation announced by President Vladimir Putin on September 21.

The Finnish border guard reported an uptick in traffic from the east on September 21 after Putin's order but said that compared to the period before the pandemic, "the amount is still small".

Travel between Finland and Russia was a vexing issue even before the mobilisation order with Russian tourists travelling to the bloc amid the Ukraine war causing major public outrage.

Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said on September 21 that Finland would find its own solution to the issue of Russian tourist visas amid the increased travel from Russia.

"Finland does not want to become a transit country for Schengen visas issued by other countries," Haavisto said, according to public broadcaster Yle. "There is no moral justification for Russian holidays to continue as they are."

Helsinki had raised the visa issue several times in the EU, he said. But the border with Russia should not be closed completely, he said, as there are still legitimate reasons to enter Finland.

Finland shares a 1,340-km (833-mile) border with Russia. This means that the Nordic country has by far the longest border with Russia among the EU member states.

According to Yle, Russian tourists have so far been able to enter the Schengen area by bus or car across the Finnish border despite the war their country is waging against Ukraine.

The three Baltic EU members – Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia – as well as Poland jointly placed tougher restrictions on Russian citizens wishing to enter their countries starting this week.

All four countries will from now on no longer permit Russian citizens with a Schengen visa for tourism, business, sport or cultural purposes to enter their territory.

The move follows a decision from the EU earlier in September to scrap a visa facilitation agreement with Russia, designed to make travelling to the bloc more difficult for Russian citizens while maintaining access for humanitarian reasons.

The EU executive arm gave no sign on September 22 that changes to the bloc's approach to restricted travel for Russian citizens were taking place after Putin's order.

The Schengen zone includes 22 EU countries and four other European countries.