Czechia has been advocating for the approval of a proposal to restrict the mobility of Russian diplomats within the Schengen Area since it was originally presented in December of last year.
According to EU Helpers, the EU may no longer allow Russian diplomats accredited in one Member State to freely travel to the other countries in the region.
This would imply that a Russian ambassador accredited, say, in Czechia might not be permitted to freely travel into neighboring countries, such as Germany, Austria, Slovakia, and Poland.
In addition, Minister Lipavský stated earlier in January that Russia is dedicated to getting its proposal included in the 13th package of penalties and that Russian diplomats should no longer be allowed to access the region.
It is still quite challenging to put this into practice, even though it seemed like a sensible measure to stop Russian diplomats from traveling freely within the Schengen Area.
This is due to the fact that there are typically no border controls between the Schengen nations. As long as there are no restrictions in place, a person can travel freely between member nations once they reach the Schengen Area.
The European Union Parliament has designated February 24 as a symbolic date, marking the second anniversary of the start of the war in Ukraine, and plans to unveil a new set of sanctions against Russia on that day.
Several EU officials have already disclosed that the new sanctions package will identify several Russian and Belarusian military officers, even though the EU has not yet made the announcement.
The new sanctions will also go after organizations that have assisted Russia in obtaining other arms that are illegal.
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen commented on the impending new sanctions package, stating that Russia has already been weakened by the current measures.
Restrictions that target individuals and entities are anticipated to be included in the 13th package, just like in the other packages that have been introduced thus far.