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** I could not find the English translation on DW's site. I put this through the translator in Chrome. **

As part of the latest package of sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, the European Union may further tighten visa issuance for Russians and introduce restrictions for Russian diplomats, the Italian news agency ANSA has learned.

The European Union is studying the possibility of further restricting the issuance of tourist visas to Russian citizens, the Italian news agency ANSA reported on Tuesday, September 9, citing sources . This possibility is being considered by the European Commission as part of the 19th package of EU sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine .

As ANSA writes, this issue was raised in light of the large number of Russians entering the EU this summer. In addition, the European Commission may introduce restrictions for Russian diplomats. No details were given on how exactly the visa issuance process will be tightened.

The EU wants to restrict the movement of Russian diplomats
In late August, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky called on the EU to ban free movement of Russian diplomats in the Schengen zone as part of "a measure to weaken Russia's capabilities." "We are giving the Russian regime an unjustified advantage, and it is being used to facilitate subversive operations," Lipavsky told Politico . Poland has made a similar proposal, ANSA now reports.

In September 2022, the EU suspended the simplified visa regime with Russia, which increased the visa fee from 35 to 90 euros and made applications take longer to process. Some European countries, including Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and the Czech Republic, stopped issuing tourist visas to Russian citizens altogether.

EU discusses energy sanctions against Russia
The 19th package of restrictions is planned to be adopted as early as September of this year . According to four sources of Politico among European diplomats, it is not expected to include new serious restrictions on the sale of Russian energy resources. The Bloomberg agency, citing sources, claims that the EU countries may impose restrictions on six banks and energy companies, including tougher sanctions against Rosneft and Lukoil .

The 18th package of sanctions already banned the import of petroleum products made from Russian crude oil from third countries except Canada, Norway, Switzerland, the UK and the US. Sanctions were imposed on 105 tankers of Russia's " shadow fleet ". In addition, the EU decided to lower the price ceiling for Russian oil from $60 to $47.6 per barrel.