ANSA has learned of a plan to tighten the rules for issuing Schengen visas to Russians.

The European Union is discussing the possibility of tightening the rules for issuing Schengen visas to Russian citizens as part of the development of a new, 19th sanctions package against Moscow, the Italian news agency ANSA reports. 

The article calls such an initiative easily implementable, in contrast to Washington's calls on Brussels to impose secondary sanctions on Russia's trading partners, primarily India, due to the latter's purchase of Russian goods.oil .

Among the proposals is Poland's idea to ban Russian diplomats from freely moving within the Schengen area, restricting their travel to the EU member state where they are accredited, the agency reports. In 2023, the Czech Republic proposed a similar measure, but it was ultimately not included in the 12th package of anti-Russian sanctions. Moscow promised to retaliate in kind if restrictions on the travel of Russian diplomats to the EU were imposed. Russian authorities call Western sanctions illegal.

Following the start of the military operation in Ukraine in September 2022, the EU suspended the simplified visa regime with Russia: the visa fee increased from €35 to €80 (increased to €90 in 2024), and the visa application processing time increased from ten to 15 days. Several European countries, including Poland , Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and the Czech Republic, completely stopped issuing tourist visas to Russian citizens. In February 2024 , Belgium proposed completely stopping issuing Schengen visas to all Russians.

By the end of 2024, Russia was among the top five countries in terms of Schengen visa applications. The number of applications submitted by Russians totaled approximately 606,000. Although the refusal rate was approximately seven times higher than pre-pandemic, this trend declined last year—7.5% of refusals in 2024 compared to 10.6% in 2023, according to European Commission data.

ReadPIONERPRODUKT .by inTELEGRAM .