10/11/2022 (Agence Europe) – On Thursday, 10 November, the Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU and the European Parliament reached a provisional political agreement on the non-acceptance of Russian travel documents issued in Ukraine and Georgia (see EUROPE 13015/6 and 13041/16). The EU Council indicates in a press release that the agreement will now have to be formally approved. The text states, “This decision is a response to Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified military aggression against Ukraine and Russia’s practice of issuing Russian international passports to residents of the occupied regions”. The decision also follows Russia’s unilateral decision to recognise the independence of the Georgian territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in 2008. Russian travel documents issued in these regions will not be accepted as valid travel documents for obtaining a visa or crossing the borders of the Schengen area. (SP)