No more Estonian – Russian simplified border zone visa
The Estonian parliament rejected on Tuesday a bill that would have reinstated a simplified visa procedure with Russia.
The privileged visa regime, introduced in 2002, applied to people who had relatives, property or other reasons to visit Russia or Estonia. Around 2,000 free visas and 6,000 privileged visas were issued for Estonian citizens per year. It allowed for free annual visas to citizens included on lists drawn up by local authorities.
Although the Schengen rules allow local governments to request visa-free crossings for people living up to 50 kilometers from the border, Estonian Interior Minister Juri Pihl said the authorities would not be able to ensure border security, reports RIA Novosti.
The minister said Estonia, which became an EU member in 2004, regarded the privileged border regime with Russia “with conservative cautiousness.”
In the north, Russia and Norway are planning to introduce a similar kind of border zone regime. Last June, both Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Norway’s Jonas Gahr Støre said they supported the idea.
