EU plans to restrict issuance of Schengen visas for Russians - Euractiv
The European Union is discussing another package of sanctions against Russia, including new restrictions on Russian citizens and Russian diplomats.
This was reported by Censor.NET with reference to Euractiv.
As noted, one of the ideas is to limit the issuance of tourist visas to Russian residents and unify the rules for obtaining them. Currently, these issues remain the responsibility of individual states. Some EU countries (Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Czech Republic, Finland) have already effectively closed entry for Russians, while Italy, Spain, Greece, France, and Hungary remain more liberal.
According to the European Commission, more than 500,000 Russians received Schengen visas in 2024. This has become one of the reasons for discussion in the EU. "We can't just let Russians travel and enjoy life while their government is killing Ukrainians," said one EU diplomat.
The Czech Republic's initiative to restrict the freedom of movement of Russian diplomats within the bloc is discussed separately. It is a ban on travel outside the country of accreditation, which effectively suspends Schengen rules for diplomats. Prague believes that this will help prevent the use of diplomatic status by enemy agents.
Skeptical EU countries warn of the risk of Moscow's retaliatory steps and doubt the effectiveness of such restrictions without internal border control.
