Czechia wants to restrict travel for Russian diplomats again

Czechia will propose restricting the movement of Russian diplomats within countries in the Schengen Area again.

As reported by Euractiv, Lipavský made his statement after reports emerged about the arrest of two Russian agents in Germany, suspected of espionage and planning sabotage. 

He expressed his intention to raise the issue of Russian spies at the meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg on Monday.

"We must develop new instruments to tackle the Russian spy threat. On Monday at FAC, I will reiterate my proposals to curb Russian spies moving across Schengen. It could be achieved rapidly."

The European Union decided in 2022 that Russian diplomats could no longer benefit from visa facilitation agreements, granting them privileged EU access. However, they can still apply for visas and travel within the Schengen Area.

Under the Czech proposal, Russian "diplomats" or secret agents posing as diplomats who come to Europe for a short period would not have the right to enter any EU country other than the one that issued their visa.

Another option is to make biometric passports mandatory for Russian diplomats at EU level, as they are harder to counterfeit.

In January, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský proposed that EU countries restrict the movement of Russian diplomats within the Schengen Area.