Perhaps very soon Russians arriving at the ports of Finland and Sweden by ferries will be able to stay in these countries for 72 hours without a visa. At least, preliminary consent from the leadership of these two states has already been received. It remains to coordinate the issue with the European Parliament.
Delegates from 11 Baltic countries participating in the Parliamentary Conference, which took place in St. Petersburg at the end of August 2012, wrote an appeal to the EU Parliament. They ask to temporarily introduce a visa-free regime in European ports. Sweden and Finland have already agreed to open their borders. Now visa cancellation must be confirmed in the EU.
Explaining this initiative of the conference delegates, Senator from St. Petersburg Vadim Tyulpanov explained that for foreigners arriving in the Northern capital and other port cities of the Russian Federation on ferries, such a privilege is already in effect. Russia took this step several years ago, and unilaterally. Under the new regime, foreign citizens can spend no more than 72 hours in the Russian Federation without a visa.
Due to the introduction of the quota, the tourist flow to the Russian Federation on ferries has increased quite significantly. For example, according to the Finnish radio station YLE, the number of participants on the Lappeenranta-Vyborg cruise increased by 15% over the year, and the number of tours on the Saimaa Canal with a stay in St. Petersburg for several days increased by more than 10%.
Moscow has repeatedly asked the EU to take a reciprocal step of goodwill towards the passengers of the ferries - the Russians. In 2011, Vladimir Putin, then prime minister, even expressed dissatisfaction with Stockholm's sluggishness during an official visit to Sweden. He recalled that Russia took a proactive step and canceled visas in the hope that its foreign partners would appreciate the initiative and also introduce privileges for Russians. But this has not happened yet.
The European Union explained the impossibility of changing the visa regime by the provisions of the Schengen Code. However, not so long ago, Greece, for example, was allowed to issue visas to tourists directly in the ports of some islands. Therefore, experts do not exclude that this time the European Parliament may make a positive decision with regard to Russia.
