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The European Commission plans to propose tougher visa restrictions for Russian citizens next year, following criticism from 11 European countries over the continued issuance of large numbers of tourist visas by some EU member states, Euronews reports, UATV English informs.
The criticism was directed primarily at France, Italy, and Spain, which continue to receive hundreds of thousands of Russian tourists each year.
“We will propose targeted restrictive visa measures to further address security threats arising from hostile actions by third countries,” said European Commission spokesperson for migration Markus Lammert.
The proposal is expected to be presented in 2027 and therefore will not affect the 2026 summer travel season.
At the same time, the European Commission emphasized that visa issuance remains the responsibility of individual member states, while Brussels exercises only supranational oversight.
The statement came in response to a joint letter from 11 European countries led by Sweden. The signatories criticized the uneven implementation of recommendations adopted in 2022 to limit visas for non-essential travel by Russian citizens following the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The countries called for new “restrictive and mandatory” visa measures to be introduced as soon as possible, improved implementation of existing recommendations, and the publication of regular visa statistics.
According to the European Commission, Russian citizens received 619,000 Schengen visas in 2025.
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