The European Union is proposing new sanctions related to the Russian war in Ukraine, and this time, the restrictions will impact the foreign companies and individuals helping Russian firms linked with the war in Ukraine.
According to RFE/RL, the EU wants to target Chinese companies and individuals helping Russia directly or indirectly to continue financing the war in Ukraine. These companies and individuals, if the EU votes in favour of this proposal, will have assets frozen and visas banned, Schengen.News reports.
Once passed, it would be the 15th sanction package, which aims to target six China-based companies with asset freezes and one Chinese citizen, a business, with a visa ban.
54 Individuals Could Be Subject to Visa Ban if New Sanctions Are Implemented
The proposed document includes the names of 54 persons for visa bans and another 29 companies that can have their assets frozen, mainly of which are based in Russia and are Russian citizens. A total of six entities are based in China or Hong Kong, one of them being owned by a Russian.
Since the war in Ukraine started in 2022, the EU has imposed several sanctions on Russian nationals, including closing visa application centres.
This has impacted the accessibility of Schengen visas for Russian nationals in recent years, but not necessarily the Russians’ interest in visiting the EU.
According to data from Continent Express, a rise of 35 per cent in business and tourist visas was evident between January and October of 2024, indicating that Russian nationals have increasingly looked for different pathways to adapt to sanctions but continue to visit the EU.
Tighter Rules for Russian Nationals Across the EU
As the war in Ukraine continues, the EU has raised security alerts. Shutting down the air zone, blacklisting Russian citizens and introducing tighter citizenship rules for Russian citizens are some of the measures that the EU has implemented to maintain national security.
The most recent changes are expected to happen in Czechia, which plans to ban Russian nationals from holding dual citizenship. So, Russians applying for Czech citizenship will have to decide whether they want to keep their Russian citizenship or hold only Czech citizenship.
In addition, the EU’s migration chief, Ylva Johansson, has called on the EU to introduce tighter rules for Russians as security concerns are increasingly growing. Johansson urged EU countries to stop issuing visas to Russians, while Germany and France, who are against tightening rules for Russian diplomats, have not commented on these developments yet.
Source: https://schengen.news/eu-wants-to-impose-visa-ban-on-chinese-assisting-russian-war-in-ukraine/
