The back-and-forth about visas for Russian citizens could now quickly come to an end. EU Interior Commissioner Johansson hopes that the previous simplifications will fall as early as next week. That would increase the processing time and make entry considerably more expensive.
The agreement concluded between the EU and Russia to facilitate the issuing of visas could be suspended as early as next Monday. The EU Commission officially proposed the step in Brussels after the EU states had recently reached an agreement in principle.
Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson said she was confident that the Council of States would formally adopt the proposal this week. "This means that we will have a new common visa regime for Russia on Monday morning." This should result in Russian tourists having to wait significantly longer for their visas. In addition, they usually have to pay a processing fee of 80 instead of 35 euros. Access to visas valid for multiple entries will be restricted, Johansson said. The move is another punitive EU measure in response to Russia's war against Ukraine.
The visa agreement between the EU and Russia has been in effect since 2007. Shortly after the start of the war on February 24, the simplifications for business people, government officials and diplomats were already suspended. Countries like Estonia are pushing for much stricter measures and are working on stricter rules to at least completely prevent Russians from vacationing and shopping in the EU.
Johansson also announced guidelines for issuing visas to Russians. On the one hand, this should ensure that journalists, dissidents or human rights activists always find protection. "On the other hand, member states should have the possibility to refuse a visa application for certain categories of Russian applicants who could pose a potential threat to public order, internal security or international relations of a member state." In addition, the EU Commission presented a proposal according to which Russian passports issued in occupied territories of Ukraine should not be recognised.
The EU states and the European Parliament still have to negotiate on this. According to the European Commission, as of September 1, around 963,000 valid Schengen visas for Russians were in circulation.
