EU's Council fully suspends visa facilitation with russia
On Friday, September 9, the Council of the European Union approved the complete suspension of the facilitation agreement with russia.
This is reported on the website of the Council of the EU.
Thus, the visa code's general rules will apply to russian citizens.
It is expected that the decision will enter into force on September 12.
For russians, the visa fee will increase from 35 to 80 euros, and the visa terms will increase to 15 days, sometimes to 45 days.
"A visa facilitation agreement allows privileged access to the EU for citizens of trusted partners with whom we share common values. With its unprovoked and unjustified war of aggression, including its indiscriminate attacks against civilians, russia has broken this trust and trampled on the fundamental values of our international community. Today's decision is a direct consequence of Russia's actions and further proof of our unwavering commitment to Ukraine and its people," Vít Rakušan, Czech Minister of the Interior, said in a statement.
Reference
The EU-russia visa facilitation agreement entered into force on June 1, 2007. Its purpose was to facilitate the issuance of short-stay visas (no more than 90 days per 180 days) based on reciprocity.
On February 24, 2022, the European Council condemned russia's military aggression against Ukraine and expressed full solidarity with Ukraine.
On February 25, the EU adopted further restrictive measures against russia and the partial suspension of the visa facilitation agreement for diplomats, other russian officials, and business people.
At the informal meeting on August 31, foreign affairs ministers reached a political agreement to move forward with the complete suspension of the visa facilitation agreement.
The full suspension affects all categories of travelers coming to the EU for a short stay.
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