On Wednesday 12 October the national ambassadors of the Member States to the EU adopted their mandate to negotiate with the European Parliament on the decision of ‘non-acceptance’ of Russian travel documents issued in Ukraine and Georgia.
The Council of the EU had recently decided to substitute the term ‘non-acceptance’ for the term ‘non-recognition’ originally proposed by the European Commission (see EUROPE 13032/18).
Russian travel documents issued in the Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine or the breakaway territories of Georgia, or to people residing there, will therefore not be accepted as valid travel documents for obtaining a visa or crossing the borders of the Schengen area, explains the Council.
Russian travel documents issued in these regions are already not recognised, or are in the process of not being recognised, by EU Member States. This decision aims to define a common approach, to ensure the proper functioning of the external border and common visa policies and to safeguard the security of EU Member States.
The European Parliament has yet to adopt its mandate. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)