You will have to pay more for the right to enter EU countries
Recall that back in 2006, the European Commission approved and submitted to the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers of the EU a proposal for the adoption by EU member states of a common visa code, which provides for uniform conditions and procedures for issuing visas for EU countries. As 'Zagranitsa' reported, it concerns, in particular, short-term and transit visas, as well as entry visas obtained at airports.
Last Tuesday, MEPs, after lengthy negotiations between various committees and factions, reached an agreement on new rules. As Izvestia.Ru writes, the cost of a Schengen visa will now rise to €60.
As one of the deputies told the publication, the debates around the visa discussions were quite heated. 'The European Council demanded the introduction of a single tariff for a Schengen visa - €70. We insisted on €35,' the publication quotes the MEP. 'In the end, we settled on €60 - this is the maximum we were able to achieve.'
The European Commission believes that the adoption of a single Visa Code by the European Union states will be an effective tool in the fight against illegal immigration from third countries. And the increase in the visa fee to €60 is linked to the need to process biometric data, when the European Union, following the example of the United States and Great Britain, will switch to issuing biometric visas.