“Nothing is impossible but, of course, time is needed for that,” he told reporters after meeting with President Gitanas Nausėda on Tuesday.
According to the commissioner, it remains to be seen whether a compromise agreement can be adopted by the member states, adding that the situation is not identical in different countries. He also said the decision should be approved by the European Council.
“The [European] Commission has very little leverage in this case because this is the prerogative of the member states and every country explores this individually. And we indeed see that countries, which have already announced a reduction in visa issuance, a ban, also use different formulas. So in this case the position of the Commission is not crucial, here leaders must agree at the Council,” said Sinkevičius.
The commissioner added that so far there has not been a concrete proposal on restriction of tourist visas.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky called on the EU to impose a tourist visa ban for Russian citizens.
Estonian and Finnish Governments have also urged other EU countries to stop issuing tourist visas to Russians.
When Russia invaded Ukraine in February, Lithuania was among the first EU countries to limit national and Schengen visas to Russian citizens. Currently, Russian citizens may enter Lithuania with a humanitarian visa, or if they arrive from another Schengen country or if they received a visa before 24 February.
