And this is the first step. There will be a second one, probably before the end of 2022.
“We are in an exceptional situation and this requires exceptional steps. We want to go beyond the suspension of visa facilitation,” a senior EU official announced, adding that deeper changes might be made by the end of the year.
According to the Financial Times, there is no consensus on additional measures: whether to completely stop issuing visas or impose a ban on Belarusian citizens as well.
It is known that some countries, including, for example, the Czech Republic, Poland and Estonia, have already stopped issuing visas for Russians. And they demand similar actions from others. But in the bloc of 27 countries there is no unity on this issue. A number of states continue to issue travel documents to Russians, giving them free access to the rest of the Schengen countries.