EU Ministers Urge Restriction on Russian Diplomat Movement

Eight European Union foreign ministers have called on the EU to ban Russian diplomats from moving freely within the bloc, asserting that their unrestricted movement facilitates malign activities. The ministers recommended restricting Russian diplomats and their families to their accredited countries, significantly limiting operational space for Russian agents.

Eight European Union foreign ministers called on the EU to ban Russian diplomats from moving freely around the bloc and restrict them to countries where they are accredited, in a letter to EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.

"Free movement of holders of Russian diplomatic and service passports, accredited in one host state, across the whole Schengen area is easing malign activities," according to the letter, dated June 11, seen by Reuters. The ministers said that intelligence, propaganda "or even preparation of sabotage acts are the main workload for a large number of Russian 'diplomats' in the EU", and while expulsions were important, the threat remained.

"We believe the EU should strictly follow the reciprocity principle and restrict the movement of members of Russian diplomatic missions and their family members to territory of a state of their accreditation only," they said. "This measure will significantly narrow operational space for Russian agents," added the letter, which was signed by ministers from the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland and Romania.

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