Brussels is set to take action after a group of 11 European countries led by Sweden expressed concern over the fragmentation of the visa regime for citizens of the Russian Federation. The European Commission has promised to tighten the visa regime for Russians amid political pressure on France, Italy, and Spain, which continue to host hundreds of thousands of Russian tourists every year. This was stated by the European Commission spokesperson for migration, Markus Lammert, as reported by Euronews and transmitted by UNN.
Details
"We will propose the introduction of targeted restrictive visa measures to further address security risks arising from the hostile actions of third countries. This is part of the revision of the Visa Code next year," Lammert said.
As the publication writes, these comments came in response to a strongly worded letter sent earlier this week to the European Commission by a coalition of 11 European countries: the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, and Sweden.
Iceland and Norway are not members of the EU but belong to the passport-free Schengen Area.
In a joint statement under the auspices of Sweden, the unequal application of recommendations introduced at the beginning of Russia's war against Ukraine is condemned. These recommendations were intended to deprioritize the processing of Russian applications for non-essential travel and increase focus on border and security risks. Multiple-entry visas were phased out in 2025 in favor of single-entry visas.
11 countries have appealed to the EU to stop issuing tourist visas to Russians03.06.26, 20:03
"Restricting the issuance of visas to Russian citizens has been a top priority for the Commission since the beginning of the Russian aggression against Ukraine in 2022. We have taken unprecedented measures and will continue to do so," Lammert said.
However, as the publication notes, three countries stand out in the bloc for being favorable toward tourists.
"In 2025, France issued the highest number of visas to Russian citizens—just under 180,000, which is a significant increase compared to 2024. Italy took second place with just under 160,000, despite a slight decrease compared to the previous year. Spain took third place with just under 100,000, which is a generally stable figure compared to the previous year," the publication adds.
Recall
The number of Schengen visas issued to Russian citizens last year increased by 10% to over 620,000. At the same time, the share of multiple-entry visas issued to Russian passport holders decreased.