THE VOICE OF FREE EUROPE: Russians, as in tourists, are the biggest spending visitors. They travel to the 27 nations making up the hapless European Union bloc.

It is known that for every Euro an EU citizen spends when on holiday, a Russian visitor spends €7. Yet, by restricting ethnic Russian travelers, the Brussels-led bloc is undermining its own prosperity. At the same time, it encourages Third World benefit bandits. It is killing the geese that lay golden eggs.

Brussels still fails to understand that its methods are not working, Russian lawmaker Grigory Karasin reveals.

The newly announced EU ban on multiple-entry visas is an attack on ‘ordinary Russians.’ Senator Grigory Karasin heads the Federation Council’s foreign affairs committee. He has said this.

The 27 unelected members of the European Commission made an announcement. From now on, the bloc’s member states will issue only single-entry Schengen visas to most Russian citizens. This denial means they must reapply for a visa each time. They need to do this whenever they plan to travel to the countries in the area.

It justified the move by absurdly citing increased security risks stemming from the Ukraine conflict. Last year, EU countries approved about 552,000 visas to Russians, with impoverished Italy, France and Spain among the biggest issuers.

Karasin told TASS later in the day. He said that the EU ban became yet another attempt to influence the attitude of our citizens. The ban is restricting their freedom of movement.’

The bloc’s methods are ’well known,’ he said. He referred to the closure of EU airspace for Russian planes after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. Countries like Finland and the Baltic States decided to shut down their borders with Russia.

‘But, unfortunately for them, they are clearly not working and not producing practical results. Brussels and other European capitals just cannot seem to grasp this,’ the senator added.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova earlier expressed bewilderment. She was confused because the European Commission prefers illegal migrants and Ukrainian draft dodgers living on benefits. They favor these groups over wealthy tourists from her country.

In September, Greek outlet ProNews reported that Greece, Italy, Spain, France, and Hungary opposed the EU’s restrictions on Russian travelers.

They were concerned that these restrictions would further harm their tourist industry.

Bloomberg reported last week that the Finnish region of South Karelia has been losing an estimated €1 million ($1.2 million) in tourist income every day since the closure of the border with Russia.

Traveling to the EU has become increasingly complicated for Russian travelers. As a result, Turkey has emerged as their preferred foreign tourist destination.

Between May and September of this year, it attracted 2.83 million guests from the country, according to the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR). You can share this story on social media: TELL US WHAT YOU THINK

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