Authorities in the Czech Republic, which holds the EU presidency in the second half of 2022, support calls to ban the issuance of Schengen visas to Russian citizens amid the ongoing war in Ukraine and will seek to implement this measure. Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky intends to press for consensus on this issue at the EU Council meeting in late August. Russia “must understand that such a belligerent policy will not go without consequences,” he said on Friday, August 12.

Earlier, at an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Prague, Lipavsky called the ban on the issuance of Schengen visas “a justified and effective measure”. “During the period of Russian aggression, whose declared borders are constantly changing, one cannot speak of ordinary tourism for Russian citizens,” he said in an interview with the Czech online publication Novinky.

The issue of the Schengen visa ban for Russians will be discussed at the end of August

In an August 8 interview with The Washington Post, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged the West to ban all Russians from entering its territory. All previously imposed sanctions against Russia are “weak” compared to closing borders to Russian citizens for a year and introducing a full embargo on the purchase of Russian energy resources, he is sure. At the same time, Zelensky noted that this measure is also likely to affect Russians who have left the country due to disagreement over the war in Ukraine. “Whatever Russians you are talking about, send them back to Russia. Then they will understand,” he added and stressed that all citizens of the Russian Federation must be held accountable for the actions of the authorities.

However, Brussels pointed to the absence of a legal rule prohibiting the issuance of short-stay Schengen visas to foreigners, and ruled out the complete cessation of issuing visas to Russians as contrary to EU rules.

The Czech Republic, along with Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, introduced severe restrictions on issuing visas to Russian citizens, and also brought the issue of restricting the issuance of Schengen visas to Russians for discussion by the EU Council at the end of August.