European Commission will propose visa restrictions for Russians in January, Politico reports
The European Commission is finalising plans to tighten visa rules for hundreds of thousands of Russians who visit EU countries as tourists every year, aiming to strengthen the EU's defences against hybrid attacks.
Source: Politico, citing EU officials, as reported by European Pravda
Details: The EU representatives said the European Commission plans to put forward the proposals in the new year after a group of countries, including Poland, Sweden and Estonia, pushed for stricter visa rules for Russians, including former combatants who fought against Ukraine.
Last year, Russian citizens were issued around 478,000 Schengen tourist visas, a significant proportion of which were multiple-entry visas.
Swedish Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer believes this system poses a threat to European security amid growing concerns about acts of sabotage, arson and other forms of hybrid warfare sponsored by Moscow.
"It's obvious I think for everyone that we have vulnerabilities in our system that can be used by our enemies. As far as I understand things, the Commission is preparing a proposal that, according to what I have heard, should be launched in January next year. From a Swedish point of view, we would love to see it even earlier," Strömmer told Politico.
Strömmer welcomed the "progress" and "growing support" for introducing a stricter visa regime for Russians.
Other countries plan to raise the issue at the Foreign Affairs Council meeting on 12 October and propose additional restrictions on Russian diplomats in the EU.
Estonia has proposed a complete ban on entry to the EU for former members of the Russian armed forces. Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said there are around 650,000 of these former combatants, and they would be banned from entering "person by person".
However, he said a tougher approach across the EU is vital for its security.
"I think a large number of these ex-combatants will come, supported by the Russian secret services, to Europe. And they will take over our organised crime and they will be heavily weaponised and supported by Russia to commit terror attacks or attacks against our societies. So this is very serious," the Estonian foreign minister stressed.
After an initial decline in the number of Russian citizens receiving visas to travel to the EU, "the numbers are not going down anymore", said European Commissioner for Migration Magnus Brunner.
"We urge the member states there to do a better job and to give less visas … to Russian citizens," he said.
"You never know who these tourists actually are," he said. "So that's why we urge the member states to decrease the number," Brunner added.
Background:
- In September, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said that EU member states could tighten controls on the movements of Russian diplomats within the Schengen Area, ban visas for former Russian combatants and reduce the number of tourist visas issued to Russians.
- On 12 October, the EU Foreign Affairs Council will discuss the possibility of introducing additional restrictions on the movements of Russian diplomats between EU member states, potentially including a complete ban on leaving the country in which they are accredited.
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