The Council of the European Union made a decision on Friday to completely suspend the visa facilitation agreement between the EU and Russia, meaning that Russian citizens will pay higher visa fees and wait longer for visas.
The suspension of the agreement, which comes into effect on Monday, entails an increase in visa fees from 35 euros to 80 euros, additional documentation will need to be submitted with visa applications, which will be processed more slowly, and stricter rules for issuing visas for multiple entries will be introduced.
– The visa facilitation agreement allows for privileged access to the EU for citizens of reliable partners with whom we share common values. Through an unprovoked and unjustified aggressive war, as well as indiscriminate attacks on civilians, Russia has destroyed that trust and jeopardized the fundamental values of our international community – stated Czech Interior Minister Vít Rakušan.
– Today’s decision is a direct consequence of Russia’s actions and further proof of our unwavering commitment to Ukraine and its people – stated the Czech minister.
The visa facilitation agreement between the EU and Russia came into force on June 1, 2007, and facilitated the issuance of visas for short stays, up to a maximum of 90 days within a 180-day period.
The political agreement on the complete suspension of the visa facilitation agreement was reached last week at an informal meeting of foreign ministers of member states in Prague.
At that meeting, the proposal to ban the issuance of tourist visas to Russian citizens, which was suggested by several member states, was not supported.
