Hungary's actions divide EU – Lithuanian parliament speaker

VILNIUS - Hungary's decision to ease the entry procedure for Russian and Belarusian citizens is splitting the European Union's unity, Speaker of the Lithuanian Semas Viktorija Cmilyte-Nielsen says.

"Hungary's recent actions are certainly a cause of great concern for other EU countries and are dividing unity, and unity in the EU is very important, especially at this time of Russia's brutal war against Ukraine," she told reporters at the Seimas on Wednesday.

"It is really worrying that there seems to be such a separate policy, especially given that Hungary is also currently holding the presidency," she added.

EU countries should react unanimously to Budapest's behavior, the Seimas speaker said.

In July, Hungary announced a new facilitated visa scheme under which citizens of eight countries, including Russia and Belarus, can enter Hungary without security checks or other restrictions.

Budapest claims that many of those entering under this scheme will be building a nuclear power plant.

The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry told BNS on Tuesday that Lithuania would turn to the European Commission Hungary's decision.

Under EU rules, national governments have the right to decide on legal migration and work permits. Non-EU nationals with EU visas can generally move freely within the Schengen area, which covers 29 countries, including Norway and Switzerland.

In 2022, the EU imposed sanctions on Russia and Belarus after Russia launched a full-scale war in Ukraine. While they do not ban Russians from traveling to the EU, Russian-based airlines are no longer allowed to fly into the bloc and hundreds of individuals with links to the Kremlin have been blacklisted.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban also visited Russia and China soon after Hungary took over the rotating EU presidency.