They did not, however, decided to prohibit more visa, as required by certain member states.
Le Monde with AFP
The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the European Union (EU) decided on Wednesday August 31 to suspend the agreement on the relaxation of the visa regime with Russia. However, they did not decide on a broader visa ban, as required by certain member states.
The head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, said that the ministers gathered in Prague had recognized that relations with Moscow “could not remain unchanged” and that the agreement, concluded in 2007, had to be “totally suspended”.
At the end of this informal meeting, which was held at the Prague congress center, Borrell also declared that this suspension would make the obtaining of visas for Russian nationals “more difficult” and “longer “. “This will considerably reduce the number of new visas issued by EU member states,” he added.
making a concession to the members of eastern EU who had requested stricter measures, he declared that countries bordering Russia “can take measures at the national level to restrict entry into the European Union “.
” A first necessary step “
The head of European diplomacy, however, said that these measures should comply with the rules of the Schengen space, stressing that it was important that members of Russian civil society can continue to go to the European Union .
Before the meeting, Poland and the three Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) had declared that they planned to ban Russian travelers if the EU as a whole did not do so. In a joint statement, the four countries had declared that the suspension of the agreement was “a necessary first step”, adding:
“But we must drastically limit the number of visas delivered, especially tourist visas, in order to reduce the flow of Russian citizens in the European Union and the Schengen area.”
They stressed that this measure should include exceptions “for dissidents as well as for other humanitarian cases”. “Until such measures are put in place at the EU level, we (…) will consider introducing temporary visa prohibition measures or restrictions on border crossings for Russian citizens holders of European visas “, can be read in the declaration written in English.