Month: September 2022

EU complicates travel rules for Russians amid Ukraine war

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

EU foreign ministers decided on Wednesday to make it more expensive and lengthier for Russians to obtain visas to travel to the bloc, but stopped short of agreeing to the EU-wide visa ban that Ukraine and several member states had called for.

The EU was too divided to agree at this stage on a blanket ban, and also left unclear what unilateral measures Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Finland, which have land borders with Russia, could take to restrict access to Russian visitors.

These five countries welcomed the suspension of Russia’s visa facilitation deal as a “necessary first step”, but stressed that more was needed to be done to “drastically” limit the numbers of visas issued and Russians travelling to the bloc since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February.

“Until such measures are in place on the EU level, we will consider introducing on the national level temporary measures of visa ban, or restricting border crossing for Russian citizens holding EU visas, in order to address imminent public security issues,” they said in a joint statement.

Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said the EU’s executive Commission would indeed look at ways to go further, including what can be done with what Lipavsky said were about 12 million Schengen visas already issued for Russians – referring to the 26-country zone of open borders.

The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, argued that the suspension of the visa facilitation deal will by itself already have a real impact.

“This will significantly reduce the number of new visas issued by the EU member states. It’s going to be more difficult, it’s going to take longer,” he told a news conference at the end of a two-day meeting of EU foreign ministers in Prague.

Borrell said a substantial increase in border crossings from Russia into neighbouring states since mid-July had made it necessary to suspend the visa facilitation agreement.

Also Read: Oil prices fall on greater supply, lower China demand

Security Risk

“This has become a security risk for these neighbouring states,” he added. “In addition to that, we have seen many Russians travelling for leisure and shopping as if no war was raging in Ukraine.”

More than one million Russian citizens have entered the bloc through land border crossing points since the beginning of the Ukraine invasion, most of them via Finland and Estonia, the bloc’s border agency Frontex said.

Ukraine has repeatedly said ordinary Russians must also pay for the invasion, which has killed thousands of civilians, according to the United Nations, and levelled cities.

Its foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, earlier on Wednesday repeated calls for an EU visa ban, saying it would be “an appropriate response to Russia’s genocidal war of aggression in the heart of Europe supported by an overwhelming majority of Russian citizens”.

But France and Germany disagreed.

“We caution against far-reaching restrictions on our visa policy, in order to prevent feeding the Russian narrative and triggering unintended rallying-around the flag effects and estranging future generations,” they said in a joint memo.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Oil prices fall on greater supply, lower China demand

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Oil prices fell in early Asian trade on Thursday, led lower by increased supply and worries that the global economy could slow further with renewed restrictions to curb COVID-19 in China.

Brent crude futures fell 37 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $95.27 a barrel by 00:06 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 32 cents, to $89.23 a barrel.

Recent market volatility has followed concerns about inadequate supply in the months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and as OPEC struggled to increase output.

Also Read: EU complicates travel rules for Russians amid Ukraine war

However, production in both OPEC and the United States has risen to its highest level since the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. OPEC’s output hit 29.6 million barrels per day (bpd) in the most recent month, according to a Reuters survey, while US output rose to 11.82 million bpd in June. Both are at their highest levels since April 2020.

Meanwhile, China’s factory activity extended declines in August due to new COVID infections, the worst heat wave in decades and an embattled property sector that weighed on production, suggesting the economy will struggle to sustain momentum.

Finance ministers from the Group of Seven club of wealthy nations will discuss the US Biden administration’s proposed price cap on Russian oil when they meet on Friday, the White House said.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow