Financial Times: EU discusses possibility of restricting movement of Russian diplomats in Europe
Czech authorities want Russian diplomats to receive visas that allow them to travel only in their host country, not the rest of the Schengen area
European Union member states are discussing how to restrict the travel of Russian diplomats after the Czech Republic complained that "potential spies" are difficult to control due to the lack of border controls in EU countries.
Source. This was reported by FinancialTimes.
After the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, European countries expelled hundreds of Russian diplomats, claiming that they were indeed intelligence agents, the publication reminds. But some countries continue to issue visas to Russian diplomats, giving them access to the Schengen area and the right to travel without restrictions.
Last week, the Czech Republic distributed a document with proposals on how to prevent this as part of negotiations on the 12th package of EU sanctions against Moscow, which member states have yet to approve, the Financial Times notes.
Over the past year, the Czech Republic has expelled more than 70 Russians in connection with the war in Ukraine and suspicions of Russian involvement in the 2014 explosion at a Czech ammunition depot that killed two people.
The Czech authorities want Russian diplomats to receive visas and residence permits that allow them to travel only within the host country, not the rest of the Schengen area, the newspaper writes.
Another suggestion is that the EU should accept only biometric passports, which are more difficult to forge or link to fake identities. A separate issue concerns officials who have received Austrian visas to work at UN agencies in Vienna, who can then travel to the Czech Republic or elsewhere, the Financial Times reports.
"Agents of the GRU and other special services arrive in the Czech Republic. It's very difficult to control this in the Schengen area," a European diplomat complained on condition of anonymity.
The debate is still at an early stage, and the complex legal issues involved mean that any changes are unlikely to appear in the 12th package of sanctions against Russia currently being discussed, the newspaper writes.
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