EU Tightens the Door: New Push to Reduce Visas for Russians

Eleven European countries have called on the European Commission to review the rules governing the issuance of Schengen visas to Russian citizens.

This is reported by the Polish publication RMF24.

The initiators of the appeal were Poland, Sweden, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Iceland, the Czech Republic, and the Netherlands.

According to the authors of the letter, the number of Russian tourists in European countries remains too high given that Russia continues its war against Ukraine.

The countries propose changing the rules for issuing Schengen visas and introducing additional restrictions on tourist trips by Russian citizens.

According to the Schengen Barometer, Russians received almost 480,000 Schengen visas last year. The most common countries issuing such visas were France, Italy, Spain, and Greece.

The appeal emphasizes that Russian tourists continue to vacation in European resorts while the war against Ukraine continues.

In November last year, the European Commission already restricted the issuance of multiple-entry Schengen visas to Russian citizens, leaving an exception only for those who have citizenship of European Union countries.