PRAGUE, August 31. /TASS/. Top diplomats of the European Union member states are unlikely to make a practical decision on issuing visas for Russian nationals, but will try reaching an all-embracing political decision, which must be clarified later, since the involved countries greatly differ in their current stance, EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell said on Wednesday.
Borrell arrived earlier in the day for an informal meeting of the EU member states’ foreign ministers in Prague.
Upon his arrival in the capital of the Czech Republic, Borrell told journalists that a question regarding the issuance of foreign-travel visas for Russian nationals was an important issue on the agenda of the meeting. EU member states stick to different stances regarding this issue.
Borrell added that the current meeting of the EU’s top diplomats is informal and will be focused on discussions, but there should be a political agreement regarding the issue of foreign-travel visas issuance for Russian citizens.
At an informal meeting in Prague today, the EU foreign ministers consider changing the visa code or establishing a voluntary mechanism for cutting the number of visas issued to Russians, with the exception of certain categories of Russian nationals.
The idea was supported in a number of European nations, including the Czech Republic and Poland, as well as the Baltic states. The majority of countries in Eastern and Western Europe, including Germany, France and Portugal, are opposed to the initiative. The EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell spoke against a bloc-wide ban on the issuance of visas to all Russians.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said in an August 9 interview with the Washington Post that Western countries should ban all Russians from entering their territory, and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba later on tweeted out a call on social media urging all EU and Group of Seven countries to stop issuing visas to Russians. This idea was supported by some European countries, including the Baltic states and the Czech Republic.
A diplomatic source in Brussels told TASS that EU top diplomats will look into proposals from the Baltic states and Finland on banning Schengen visas to Russians when they convene for an informal meeting in Prague on August 30-31.
Later, this information was confirmed by the European Commission. The source also explained that since the Schengen visa guidelines does not provide for a complete ban on visas to nationals of certain countries, the backers of this proposal have two options: to begin revising the Schengen rules, which can turn into a lengthy and problematic procedure, or to reach an agreement between some EU countries on restricting the issuance of visas to certain categories of Russian citizens.