German MP Franz Thönnes on the German-Russian visa regime

Modern Russia spoke with Franz Thönnes, co-chairman of the cross-party working group of the German Bundestag on visa liberalization with Russia. Thönnes is a former Parliamentary State Secretary, member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and SPD parliamentary group’s rapporteur for Russia.  

You currently chair a cross-party working group of the German Bundestag on visa liberalization with Russia. What are the main objectives of this committee?

Our objective, following a comprehensive process of consultation and discussion, is to develop an initiative on a cross-party parliamentary basis which will relax and liberalize existing visa procedures with Russia. Developments at the European level will also be taken into account in our work, as will past experience of visa procedures and the opinions of business leaders, NGOs and foundations, as well as assessments from the areas of sport and tourism.

How do German and Russian visa requirements affect bilateral relations and what would be the main benefits from lifting them?

At the eleventh Petersburg Dialogue on July 18-19, 2011 in Wolfsburg and Hanover, participants from the business world, civil society and the Youth Parliament criticized current visa procedures. Excessive paperwork, waiting times, costs and red tape pose an obstacle not only to a lively exchange of people but also to the expansion of economic relations as well as to a productive discourse between academia, research and culture. It is estimated that Germans and Russians spend a total of €162 million ($231 million) each year on applying for visas for each others’ countries. The close economic relations that exist between Russia and Germany are of key importance to both national economies. From 2009 to 2010, for example, exports from Germany to Russia increased by 29 percent to €26.4 billion ($37.6 billion). Russian imports have also risen by 28 percent to €31.8 billion ($45.3 billion). If Germany now abandons its nuclear energy program, Russia, a leading supplier of energy and raw materials, will become even more important, particularly due to its gas resources. Furthermore, Russia is also one of the most important future markets for German and EU products. Particularly in the areas of healthcare, infrastructure and industry, there is considerable scope for further expansion with joint future-oriented projects. German companies’ great willingness to invest was confirmed by a survey conducted in November 2010 by the Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations; it revealed that 87 percent of companies surveyed believe in the continued positive development of the Russian economy and that 43 percent intend to invest in Russia in 2011.

Liberalizing and eventually lifting visa regulations would particularly help to broaden key "person-to-person contacts". Young people, cultural professionals, academics and indeed businesspeople would especially profit from this. For 83 percent of the 200 companies surveyed by the Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations, scrapping visa requirements with Russia is a key issue for the continued development of their business. In the event of complete visa freedom, no fewer than 56 percent would invest more in Russia and/or the EU.

Visa liberalization has been on the bilateral EU-Russia agenda for several years now, but progress has been very limited so far. What are the main stumbling blocks in these negotiations?

In the closing plenary session of the eleventh Petersburg Dialogue, Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel declared that “Germany has been the brake up until this point, not Europe”, making it clear where the political responsibility lies for the difficulties experienced so far during the negotiations between the European Union and Russia. Naturally there are also voices in the German parliament in favor of reconsidering Germany’s stance on visa liberalization, though this should be subject to highly critical examination. Thus the federal government will have to explain during the sessions of the cross-party working group whether the administrative costs and red tape associated with it are proportionate to the level of security that is desirable and can actually be achieved.  Further, they will have to explain whether the justified security interests vis-à-vis criminality and terrorism could not also be effectively met by other organizational and technical means.  

Russia and the EU are currently negotiating the establishment of a “roadmap” towards visa-free travel, which was discussed at the recent Russia-EU summit in Nizhny Novgorod. According to media reports, this roadmap could still be adopted this year. Is this a sign that political will to achieve EU and Russian visa liberalization is growing, and that concrete progress may be in sight?

Yes, I believe that this very slow process is now beginning to move forward as a result of public, economic and parliamentary pressure. If Chancellor Merkel is serious about her declaration at the Petersburg Dialogue plenary session in Hanover and if she genuinely believes that “Europe is unlikely to stand in the way if we in Germany have an open position”, then that is a good initial sign. But, it must be followed by concrete action and must not be allowed to be postponed indefinitely.

On the basis of its recent survey, the Committee on Eastern Economic Foreign Relations has argued that visa liberalization would significantly increase bilateral trade between Russia and Germany, and therefore called for a concrete deadline to lift visa requirements. Do you agree with this strategy, and what would a realistic deadline be?

The approach followed by the Committee on Eastern Economic Foreign Relations is exactly what we need. Its survey proves how important it is here to make progress with easing visa requirements until they can be lifted completely. A deadline of 2018 has been mentioned, given that this is when the World Cup will be hosted by Russia. But why should we wait so long? The 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 2014 could equally be the sort of historic date on which obstructive visa regulations between Germany and Russia could finally be abolished. This would offer a perspective based on the idea of freedom; en route there could perhaps be a relaxation of visa requirements for particular groups such as school pupils, trainees, students, athletes, academics, artists and regular applicants from the business sphere. If this should prove possible even sooner, then all the better. 

If you had to briefly recap the main steps leading towards EU-Russia visa-free travel in your view, what would these be?

For the cross-party working group of the Bundestag jointly headed by MP Philipp Mißfelder, the foreign policy spokesperson of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group and myself, the aim now is to pick up the pace and help the federal government keep its promise to introduce visa liberalization measures as soon as possible. One aspect of this is to work together with experts to make intensive preparations for the planned hearing on visa practices of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the German Bundestag due to take place on September 28, 2011. As well as exploring the extent to which current visa regulations pose an obstacle to investment and perhaps also contribute to competitive disadvantages, the obstruction they cause to expanding social, academic and cultural relations must also be considered. In this context, we will be looking at the regulations on both the German and the Russian side. To complement these steps, the experience of representatives of embassies and those from the areas of sport, tourism, civil society and foundations must be taken into consideration. Aspects of security must likewise be considered. It would then perhaps be advisable to initially draft proposals for group-specific and event-specific liberalization measures in order to gain some joint experience in their implementation. It is also important to set a target deadline for complete visa freedom. This is all part and parcel of the cross-party initiative with which we will accelerate the pace and also support the government in Europe. The 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 2014 would really be a great historic date, then!