Wealthy Russians have found ways to get around EU restrictions on entry from Russia: they travel to Finland and board flights from Helsinki airport.
In July alone, there were more than 230,000 border crossings from Russia to Finland (125,000 in June when travel restrictions were still in place).
Many Finns, including Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto, are dissatisfied with the entrepreneurial spirit of the Russians. Under EU rules, Finland is not allowed to close its borders on the basis of nationality. The rules can only be updated at EU level and Haavisto is calling for a ban on Russian entry:
“It would be good if countries are ready to discuss the situation at a meeting of EU foreign ministers at the end of August,” Haavisto told AFP news agency. “While Finland and the Baltic countries are going to restrict visas, it would be good if all EU countries made similar decisions.”
That is, the Russians are threatened with a ban on free movement on a national basis.