Estonia has banned Russian tourists. Now it's lobbying the European Union to do the same - CBC

Estonia says its ban on Russian tourists will impact about 50,000 people. The country, which borders Russia, is pushing for an expanded ban on all Russian tourists entering the European Union's Schengen area. (Corinne Seminoff/CBC) - pics/2022/08/59519_001_t.jpg — Estonia says its ban on Russian tourists will impact about 50,000 people. The country, which borders Russia, is pushing for an expanded ban on all Russian tourists entering the European Union's Schengen area. (Corinne Seminoff/CBC)

On the banks of the Narva river, two medieval fortresses stand facing each other across the border dividing Russia and Estonia, a former Soviet republic that has already started to ban Russian tourists and is pushing for the European Union to prevent millions of them from vacationing inside the bloc while their country wages war in Ukraine.

Starting Tuesday, foreign ministers from across Europe will meet in Prague where Estonia, along with the other countries including Latvia and Finland, will lobby for a ban that would see Europe turn away Russians holding tourist visas for the Schengen zone, a bloc made up of 26 European countries.

If Europe doesn't agree to act in unison, Estonia vows it will move forward with other like minded nations.

"Travel is not a human right," Urmas Reinsalu, Estonia's foreign affairs minister, told CBC News in Tallinn, Estonia's capital on Aug. 25.

"We have to also give a strong push to Russian society to wake up. You can't just walk on the streets … as a tourist, just eyes wide shut."

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