European Union foreign ministers are likely to agree to suspend a visa facilitation agreement with Moscow and make Russians wait longer and pay more for their visas, diplomats said on August 31, while the bloc remained split over an outright EU travel ban, Report informs referring to Reuters.
Germany and France warned it would be counter-productive to ban ordinary Russians, a move advocated by Kyiv in response to Russia's invasion and backed by some EU members, and the agreement's suspension was a compromise that could be reached at the ministers' two-day meeting in Prague.
"Suspension of the facilitation agreement is almost certain," one senior European Union diplomat said.
The abolition of the simplified regime will mean a change in the procedure for applying for visas. Russian citizens applying for EU visas will have to collect more documents.
In addition, the period for consideration of applications will be extended, and the cost of filing such an application will increase from 35 to 80 euros.