Politico Europe reports:
EU foreign ministers are set to back a suspension of the bloc’s visa facilitation agreement with Moscow, the Financial Times reported, citing three officials involved in talks.
Authorities have discussed limiting travel permits for Russian citizens, with some member states calling for an outright ban on Russian tourist visas, but there is no majority in favor of this.
As a first step, the foreign ministers plan to give political support to suspending the EU-Russia visa facilitation agreement at a meeting in Prague on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the FT report, which cites officials involved in the negotiations.
Read the full article.
“We have to send a signal to the Russian population that this war is not OK, it is not acceptable,” said one EU official. “We are in an exceptional situation and it requires exceptional steps.”
Full story here: https://t.co/edxYeq5vQR
— Henry Foy (@HenryJFoy) August 28, 2022
Decision set to be taken at meeting of foreign ministers in Prague would remove preferential treatment for Russians and make EU visas more expensive, require more documentation and have longer waiting times.
Officials tell me this is a first step to curb Russian travel permits
— Henry Foy (@HenryJFoy) August 28, 2022
But there is no consensus over what the next step could be. Some states like Balts and Poland want ban on new Russian tourist visas. Others say that is a mistake
So some eastern states have threatened to just close their border to Russian tourists if Brussels doesn’t take action
— Henry Foy (@HenryJFoy) August 28, 2022