13.06.2006 Russia, Moscow. The first EU-Russian meeting devoted to development of a single financial services market took place in the European Commission Delegation to Russia office.
Photo: Alexander Miridonov
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Visa Vise
// The European Commission asked Russia’s Foreign Office to subdue its officials
The ambassadors of the EU member-states and the European Commission Representative in Moscow made a complaint to Russia’s Foreign Ministry about the bureaucratic hassle during issuing visas and work permits in Russia for EU citizens. The ambassadors didn’t want to promulgate the matter, but the embassy of a certain country intentionally allowed for leakage. Yesterday Britain’s mass media – The Financial Times and Reuters – reported the information regarding the letter. Officials with the Russian Foreign Ministry acknowledged receiving it but pointed out that it was a routine document and was not meant to mark the beginning of a kind of confrontation.
According to the source of Ú in the diplomatic circles, the EU letter to the Russian Foreign Office was finished on Monday. Though approved by all the 27 ambassadors of the EU member-states, the letter was signed only by two of them: the ambassador of Slovenia, currently presiding over the EU Council, and the head of the European Commission diplomatic representatives. One of the diplomats who prepared the appeal told Ú that the cause for the complaint to the Foreign Ministry was the fact that officials with embassies noticed that more and more expatriates started leaving Russia where they had lived for quite a long time, Europe being their destination.
The diplomat opines it’s Moscow’s new way of issuing visas adopted last year that accounts for the current situation. Earlier all foreigners living in Russia could get one-year multiple visas, whereas now they are not allowed to stay in Russia for more than 90 days. Besides, according to the interlocutor of Ú, foreigners are even more worried about the necessity to apply for work permits, with employers having to make sure in advance that their employees are included in the quota. “Large enterprises are able to handle it, but SMBs will have to deny themselves hiring EU citizens, which is the reason for Europeans leaving Russia.” The interlocutor of Ú acknowledged that the changes were in the frame of law (the EU has just the same regulations concerning Russians) and the EU didn’t demand that Russia change the way of issuing visas. According to the diplomat, the message of the letter was different: the Foreign Ministry should express its view on the matter, stating that the existing state of affairs is in no way intended to oust Europeans from Russia.
Another European diplomat told Ú that “Russian ordinary officials have recently started putting obstacles in the Europeans’ way on their (officials’) own initiative, believing it to be the right tack.”
The diplomat considers that a statement of the Foreign Ministry could rectify the situation, restraining the anti-Western ardour of ordinary bureaucrats.
At that, the diplomats argued that the idea of drafting the letter had nothing to do with the TNK-BP issue, whose 148 employers were recalled by BP because of their invalid work permits. According to the European diplomat, “Dozens of other companies suffer from the same sort of problems, and the BP case is not unique.” “BP didn’t press us to write the letter, we had known about the problem for quite long and started preparing the text before the TNK-BP issue arose,” he added.
Trying to settle the matter peacefully and amicably, the European Commission was not going to let the press learn about the case, as the interlocutors of the Ú assure. It was one of the embassies, “eager to show its care about its citizens”, that promulgated it. That is how the British Financial Times and Reuters learned about the matter.
The representatives of the European Commission and the embassy of Slovenia abstained from giving any commentary yesterday; the head of the Press an Information Department of the European Commission only said that he “will not divulge the contents of the letter since it is confidential.”
The Deputy Chief of the Information and Press Department of the Foreign Office, Andrei Krivtsov confirmed that the letter had been received in the Ministry. According to the official, it is a routine document and it is not meant to mark the beginning of a kind of confrontation.
It need be added that earlier Russia’s Foreign Office complained about the bureaucratic hassle of European embassies during issuing visas for Russians. For instance, last year the Russian President’s Envoy to the European Union Vladimir Tchizhov declared that “the compulsory application for visas to the so-called visa centers, or middlemen in other words,” contradicted the agreement on facilitating the visa regime between Russia and the EU, since it caused the increase in visa price. Besides the Foreign Ministry has had complains against Great Britain. Last summer after Russia refused to extradite Andrei Lugovoy to Britain London complicated visa issuing for those having service and diplomatic passports. Britain terminated the issuing of multiple and long-term visas to Russian officials, claiming that it acted the way the Russian Foreign Ministry had always done with British officials coming to Russia.
At the same time, as Denis Daniilidis declared yesterday, the EU and Russia “have been carrying on a dialogue concerning the visa case”, and “from April 8 to 9 there are EU-Russia talks to be held in Moscow at expert level featuring the visa regime.” The source of Ú in the diplomatic circles said that real improvement could be expected from the negotiations on justice and security planned for the end of April. The Russian President Assistant, Viktor Ivanov and the Deputy President of the European Commission, Franco Frattini are to hold the negotiations in St.-Petersburg, with the Interior Ministers, Justice Ministers and Prosecutor Generals from Russia, Slovenia and France taking part as well. The visa issue is to become one of the key talking points. The interlocutor of Ú emphasizes the fact that there has been mutual understanding between Mr Ivanov and Mr Frattini. For all that, no new agreements altering the present way of issuing visas are prepared for the EU-Russia summit to take place in June.
&Which Europeans Were Denied Russian Visas
In January, 2003 Hunter Wallraff, a reporter, was denied a visa and extradited to Germany. The Foreign Ministry accused him of giving false information. He said Moscow was the purpose of his visit, and right before his trip to Russia he stated that he was going to Chechnya. Besides the Czech Petra Procházková and French André Glucksmann were denied visas as well. According to the Centre Journalism in Extreme Situations, 40 journalists have been denied Russian visas since 2000.
On April 10, 2005 the bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran church for the European part of Russia, Siegfried Springer’s visa was detained at Moscow’s Domodedovo airport. It was returned only after the church appealed to President Putin. Some other Catholic priests’ visas were canceled too, a German Lutheran Eberhard Berens and a Swedish Evangelist Leo Martensson among them.
In July, 2005 12 members of the Estonian parliament and Advisor to the Prime Minister of Estonia aiming to visit the Pechora district of the Pskov region were denied visas. These officials belong to the parties that demand handing over that land to Estonia. In November, 2005 Estonia’s Foreign Minister, Urmas Paet was not allowed to cross Russia’s border, which was explained by the fact that he had applied for his visa too late.
In November, 2005 the Head of the Hermitage Capital Management Fund, William Browder was denied visa as well. His fund was reported to have problems consolidating the shares of the Rosneft corporation, which made the company hold the IPO earlier than planned.
In November, 2007 the observers of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights complained about delay in issuing visas for them (they planned to come to Russia to monitor the State Duma electoral campaign). The Foreign Ministry attached the blame to the OSCE that “didn’t have the time” to tell the observers which documents they had to prepare to apply for visas.
In January, 2008 at the height of the British Council conflict, the Foreign Office terminated the accreditation of the then members of Britain’s Consulate Generals and refused to give visas to new staff. As a result, the regional offices of the British Council ceased their work.
Mikhail Zygar
All the Article in Russian as of Apr. 10, 2008
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