On Wednesday, European Union member states discussed a new proposal that would limit the ban on the issuance of visas to Russian soldiers and military veterans, following resistance from France and Italy to the earlier blanket sanction.
The ban will be part of the EU’s 21st package of sanctions against Russia.
Ireland, holding the rotating EU Council presidency this semester, has proposed limiting the regulation to short-stay visas for soldiers who have directly participated in the fighting in Ukraine.
At the EU ambassadors’ meeting on Wednesday practical issues related to the ban were also on the table, such as the administrative burden that would be placed on consular services by considering bans on a case-by-case basis.
The number of tourist visas issued to citizens from Northern and Eastern European countries has been steadily increasing since the start of the war, according to Eurostat data.
