EU may agree on tightening issuance of visas to Russians

PRAGUE: European Union foreign ministers, meeting in Prague on Tuesday and Wednesday, may agree tightening the issuance of visas for Russians and start debate on a wider ban on tourist visas though there is no agreement on that, EU officials said. The six-month-old war in Ukraine remains a foreign policy priority for the EU and a visa ban for Russians pushed by some mainly eastern member states will be at the top of the agenda. The bloc's defence ministers, also meeting in Prague on Monday and Tuesday, will also discuss options for setting up an EU military training mission for Ukraine.

Several EU countries have been training Ukrainian troops for a while, mainly enabling them to operate weapons Western nations are delivering to Ukraine to help its fight against Russia's invasion. It is not clear yet where an EU training programme could be based and what mandate it might have, EU diplomats said ahead of the defence ministers' meeting.

An EU diplomatic source said on Monday that the foreign ministers may agree in principle on suspending a visa facilitation agreement with Russia, which would mean Russians would pay ₹80 instead of ₹35 for EU visas, and also face a more lengthy procedure. "The result of foreign ministers' meeting will probably not be an agreement to widen sanctions by including visas," the source told reporters. "But (suspension of) the facilitation agreement will be the first step, and we will talk about how to include visas in the sanctions." The Czechs, who hold the EU's rotating presidency, have stopped issuing regular visas to Russians and have pushed for an EU-wide ban on visas for Russian tourists, an idea supported mainly by the Baltic countries. However, Germany, some other member states and the bloc's foreign policy and security chief, Josep Borrell, have opposed such a move, arguing it might breach EU rules and cut off escape routes for Russian dissidents.