Estonia plans to join the Schengen area in 2008. The daily reflects on the pros and cons: "The free movement of persons is one of the cornerstones of the EU.
The introduction of the new regulations means that we will be free from restrictions we were forced to live with only after the collapse of communism - for instance passport controls on the border with Latvia... But there are still a few question marks : the regulations provide for a single visa that is valid for all EU countries.
Estonia will no longer have any control over who enters the country and who doesn't. For example, people can apply to the Portuguese embassy for a visa that entitles them to enter Estonia. This raises the question of whether for instance members of the 'Nashi' youth organisation, which supports the Kremlin, could gain entry to Estonia this way."
True, nashi can apply to Portuguese embassy for travelling to Estonia, but it also works the other way. If engaged in unlawful activities, detained and deported from Estonia, the Nashi members now face cancelled visas and 10 year entry bans not only to Estonia, but all Schengen countries. This could calm at least some of those Putin-youth.
Posted by: From Estonia | September 27, 2007 at 09:19