The European Union gave Belarus a meaningless gift
The European Union has reduced the cost of Schengen visas for Belarusians from 80 to 35 euros, approving agreements on visa facilitation and readmission.
This is stated in a statement by the EU Council, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
Negotiations on this have been ongoing since 2014. For Russians, such prices have been in effect for a long time.
It is expected that visas will actually become cheaper in July. In addition, the decision to issue a visa will be made within 10 days.
In return, Belarus undertakes to host illegal refugees, whom the EU will expel from its territory.
The paradox is that Belarus will accept refugees, but its citizens will still not be allowed into Europe. It's all about measures to combat coronavirus.
Most European countries are not going to open their borders to Belarus, which has become one of the five European countries with the largest number of registered cases of COVID-19 infection over the past two weeks.
On the other hand, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, as a prominent Covid dissident, defiantly did not close a single border. Expelled refugees will only have to undergo a 14-day quarantine. Its organization is also the concern of the Belarusian authorities.
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