Latvia urges EU to stop issuing tourist visas to Russian citizens

Ivan Diakonov - 7 March, 05:57

Rihards Kozlovskis. Photo: Minister of Internal Affairs of Latvia

Rihards Kozlovskis, Minister of Internal Affairs of Latvia, has called on European Union countries at a meeting of the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council in Brussels to completely stop issuing Schengen tourist visas to Russian citizens.

Source: Minister of Internal Affairs of Latvia

Details: Kozlovskis justified his initiative by stating that Russia is waging a "hybrid war" against Europe. He cited several examples of dangerous activities, including illegal border crossings, acts of sabotage, the use of drones and information warfare campaigns.

Quote: "Under the current circumstances, we cannot continue with business as usual. We must acknowledge that we are in a state of hybrid war. In Latvia, this affects the daily work of security authorities both at the border and within the country. We are facing both illegal border crossings and acts of sabotage, such as the burning of the Museum of the Occupation, drones crossing the border, propaganda attempts to influence public opinion, etc. I therefore urge all member states to take this threat seriously. It is our moral duty to deny such a service."

Details: Following the European Commission data, 565,069 Schengen visas were issued to Russian citizens in 2024, which is 25% more than in 2023, with 90% of these visas being for tourism purposes. The total share of visas issued to Russian citizens was 5.7% of all Schengen visas issued during the year.

Kozlovskis reiterated that Latvia had stopped issuing tourist visas to Russian citizens in 2022 after the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The country only issues visas for humanitarian reasons now. Similar measures were taken by Estonia, Lithuania, Poland and Czechia.

Background:

The National Security Committee of the Latvian Saeima [parliament] has prepared a draft law that includes a ban on travel to Russia and Belarus for certain government employees. The ban on travel will also extend to transit through Russia and Belarus.
On 20 February, members of the Saeima supported the first reading of a bill that prohibits Russian and Belarusian citizens or legal entities owned by them from purchasing property in the country.
Latvia is also preparing changes to legislation that will prevent Russian and Belarusian citizens from holding managerial and other positions in critical infrastructure which provide access to sensitive information.

Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!