2024-08-03 15:05:37
It must be ensured that “Russian citizens who could pose espionage or other threats to security are subject to the highest level of control,” Johansson said in a letter to Hungarian Interior Minister Sándor Pinter.
Johansson warned that the scheme threatened the protection of Europe’s Schengen visa-free zone and called on the Hungarian government to explain its actions.
Hungary had previously introduced a special visa regime for workers from Ukraine and Serbia.
In July, Budapest expanded the rules to eight more countries, including Russia and Belarus.
According to the visa regulations, foreign workers can stay in Hungary for two years and can then extend their stay for three years – as often as they wish.
Foreign workers can work in any profession. However, to be able to use this norm, they must prove that they have a job, housing and health insurance in Hungary.
The rules have sparked outrage in the EU in recent days.
In a letter, the chairman of the European People’s Party (EPP), Manfred Weber, warned the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, that the visa liberalization step could pose a serious risk to the security of the EU.
2024-08-03 15:05:37