Accusations of espionage in Albania, Union ministers meet in Prague. Will Russians be banned from entering the EU?

2022-08-22 09:38:15Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Accusations of espionage in Albania, Union ministers meet in Prague. Will
Russian spies

Albanian police formally charged two Russians and a Ukrainian with espionage on Sunday, previously arrested for trying to enter a restricted military zone and then spraying military guards with what appeared to be nerve-paralysis spray.

Earlier in the day, four people of Czech nationality were arrested for entering a defunct military factory in Poličan in the south of the country. The incidents come amid an ongoing dilemma among EU countries over whether to heed Ukraine's calls to ban Russian tourists from entering the bloc, Euractiv says.

Latvia, Lithuania and Poland stopped issuing new tourist visas to Russian citizens shortly after the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine. Finland announced last week that it will reduce visa processing to just 10% of previous cases. Other EU countries, including Germany and Portugal, have chosen a more cautious approach. Ukraine is pressuring the EU to ban Russian tourists from entering the bloc, but has met with mixed reactions.

The issue will be discussed at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Prague on August 31, as the 27-member bloc weighs whether to come up with a unified stance on short-term visas for Russian citizens. The latest incidents come at a time when Russian ships are conducting a series of maneuvers in the Adriatic Sea.

According to naval radar data and an interview in La Repubblica with Chief of Defense Staff Admiral Cavo Dragone, three different Russian units entered the area last week. They include the destroyer Admiral Tributus, the intelligence ship Nikitic Tatishchev and the cruiser Varyag. The frigate Admiral Grigorovich has operated in the Ionian Sea.


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