EU Entry Ban On Russians May Bring Down Iron Curtain On Europe - AfD Leader

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th August, 2022) A blanket ban on Russian tourists wishing to travel to the European Union's Schengen area may bring an end to freedom of movement and result in a new Iron Curtain, the co-leader of the German opposition AfD party told Sputnik.

"Freedom of movement and thus freedom to travel is considered a human right. One cannot simply exempt Russian citizens from this right. Such entry bans can quickly go beyond the cause of the war and result in a new Iron Curtain. We cannot permit that," Tino Chrupalla, who heads the AfD faction in the German Bundestag, said.

Calls have been mounting for the European Commission to ban Russian tourists from entering the EU's borderless area in response to the Russian special operation in Ukraine. France and Germany have so far refused to back Baltic and some central European states on their initiative.

Chrupalla argued that the Schengen visa Code did not provide for simply stopping the issuance of short-term visas. He admitted that Schengen rules gave European member states more leeway for politically motivated restrictions on long-term visas.