Baltic and Nordic countries raise concerns again over Hungary's easing of visa scheme

Nordic and Baltic countries have expressed concern over the potential security risk that Hungary could bring to the bloc by easing entry rules for nationals of Russia and Belarus.

Hungary's National Card immigration scheme allows foreign workers to stay in the country for at least two years, and can pave the way towards permanent residency.

Hungary has extended the scheme, originally available to Serbian and Ukrainian nationals, to EU candidate countries Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Moldova, as well as Belarus and Russia.

In a letter to the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, the foreign and interior ministers of the Baltic and Nordic states, said that Hungary’s recent actions “may constitute a serious security risk.”

During a joint press conference in Adutiškis, the foreign ministers of Latvia and Lithuania highlighted their concerns.

"There was never a Schengen free for Russian diplomats with hostile intentions, and there was never a Schengen free for possible security breaches by certain countries," said Baiba Braže, Latvian minister of foreign affairs.

"This is why we take it very seriously as a security risk, and there has been a joint Nordic-Baltic ministers letter — both foreign and interior ministers — and we are currently waiting for the evaluation from the Commission in terms of the legal complications that the Hungarian decision has created, but also the impact on security, on cooperation, and from other angles," she added.

Gabrielius Landsbergis, Lithuania's minister of foreign affairs, echoed Braže's words.

"This is a unique situation. Schengen is built on trust. We trust that others will do the same as we do. If that trust is broken or could be broken, we need to look