LONDON, November 21. /TASS/. European Union countries are discussing the possibility of restricting travel by Russian diplomats within the Schengen area, the Financial Times reports.

According to the newspaper, the initiative comes from the Czech Republic who "wants Russian diplomats to receive visas and residence permits that only allow travel within the host country, and not the rest of the Schengen area." "It also wants the EU to only accept biometric passports, which are harder to forge or link to fake identities," the Financial Times added.

Czech officials claim that the measures are aimed at countering espionage.

The paper adds that "the debate is still in its early stages, and the complex legal issues involved mean that any change is unlikely to figure in the package currently under discussion."