EU preparing 19th sanctions package against Russia, Czech proposal on diplomats gaining traction

The European Commission is working on a new, 19th package of sanctions against Russia, expected to be unveiled in early September, the Czech News agency reported citing sources from the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs. According to Czech diplomats, growing attention is being paid to a long-standing Czech proposal to restrict the movement of Russian diplomats within the Schengen area. Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský (SPOLU) argues that many espionage activities take place under diplomatic cover. Prague is therefore pushing for Russian diplomats to be issued visas and residence permits allowing them to move only within their host country, not across the entire Schengen zone. The Czech government also wants the EU to accept only biometric passports, which are harder to forge or link to false identities. The Czech proposal has been on the table for nearly two years, but until now has lacked sufficient support.