The day after tomorrow the EU may cancel the simplified issuance of Schengen visas for Russians
The foreign ministers of the EU member states will support the idea of canceling the simplified procedure for issuing Schengen visas to Russian citizens.
This is reported by the British newspaper Financial Times.
Russians traveling to the EU will have to pay higher visa fees and wait longer for a tourist visa.
The agreement on simplified issuance of visas between Russia and the European Union has been in force since 2007. Breaking the agreement will mean that Russian citizens will not pay half of the visa fee of 35 euros (as has been the case for the last couple of decades), but 70 euros.
In addition, the bureaucratic procedure will be complicated; more documents will need to be provided, which will significantly delay the process of reviewing applications.
On August 31, EU foreign ministers will discuss the visa issue at an informal meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Prague.
Let us remind you that today Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, the Czech Republic and Poland are in favor of a pan-European ban on issuing Schengen visas to Russians. A number of EU states, including France and Germany, oppose such harsh measures. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, in particular, stated that, in his opinion, Europe should give a chance to leave to those who oppose the policies of Vladimir Putin.
EU diplomatic chief Josep Borrell also said on Sunday that the idea of a complete ban is unlikely to be unanimously supported at the European summit.
“I don't think cutting off relations with Russian civilians will help, and I don't think there will be unanimous support for this idea. We must be more selective. But I do not support stopping the issuance of visas to all Russians,” Borrell said in an interview with the Austrian television channel ORF.
English version :: Read in English The day after tomorrow, the EU may cancel the simplified issuance of Schengen visas for Russians.