People are ready for visa-free travel
An opinion poll made for BarentsObserver among the population on Russia’s Kola Peninsula strongly indicates that the proposed visa-freedom between Russia and the Schengen-area will increase cross-border travel. Three out of four say they are ready to visit Norway.
26 percent of the respondents in Murmansk said they have been to Norway. Among those who answered that they have never been to Norway, the follow-up question was: “Would you like to go to Norway if visa regulations are abolished?” 77 percent of the respondents answered yes.
80 percent of those who have been to Norway before said they will go more often is the visa regulations are abolished.
The opinion poll is based on telephone interviews among the population in Murmansk, Zapolyarny, Nikel and Pechenga by FORIS centre of sociological and marketing research.
Last week, BarentsObserver reported that none of EU’s 27 member states have opposed the initiative to ease the visa requirements for Russian citizens. At the EU-Russia summit in Stockholm last fall both parties said the ultimate goal is visa-free travel.
Norway is not a member of the European Union, but is joined the Schengen agreement in 2003.
The opinion poll shows that there is a less percentage of the population in near border cities Nikel and Zapolyarny that have been to Norway, compared with the population in Murmansk. Only 18 percent of the respondents in the border area said they have crossed the border, despite the fact that the people living in Nikel can see Norway from their kitchen windows. The border is just few kilometers from the town, while the actual road border-crossing point is some half hour drive from Nikel.
However, a larger percentage of the people in the border towns said they will go to Norway if the visa regulations are abolished. 87 percent of the respondents gave a clear “yes” to that question.
The Norwegian Barents Secretariat made a similar poll in 2005. Back then, 17,5 percent of the inhabitants in Nikel and Zapolyarny said they had been to Norway.
In the years after 2005, there has been a relatively high focus on cross-border cooperation with new twin-cities initiatives between the Russian border towns and the Norwegian border town of Kirkenes. Also, measures from both the Norwegian and Russian Foreign Ministers have been highlighted to increase near-border cooperation.
Read also: Easier border crossing a priority
Over the last few years, Norway has also started to issue multiple-entry visas valid for several years for Russian citizens. Despite all this, the actual number of locals in the Russian border areas that have crossed the border increased by less than one percent in the period from 2005 to 2009.
The opinion poll as a whole will be published in the book Barents Review - Talking Barents, a comprehensive report where the employees of the Norwegian Barents Secretariat highlight issues linked to people, borders and regional cooperation.
Barents Review will be presented on Thursday, February 4th, at the Transborder Cafè in Kirkenes. BarentsObserver will also make the Review available in pdf format from this site.
