EU tightens visa restrictions on Russians over the Ukraine war and acts of sabotage
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union on Friday made it more difficult for Russian citizens to enter Europe’s identity-check free travel zone due to Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine, increased acts of sabotage blamed on Moscow and potential visa abuse.
Russian nationals can no longer obtain multiple entry visas in the Schengen area, made up of 25 of the 27 EU member countries, as well as Liechtenstein, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland.
They will now have to apply for a new visa every time they travel to Europe, “enabling careful and frequent screening of applicants to mitigate any potential security risks”, the EU’s executive arm, the European Commission, said.
Exceptions will be made for people “whose reliability and integrity are beyond doubt” such as dissidents, independent journalists or human rights defenders, as well as close family members of Russians living in the EU or family members of EU citizens living in Russia.
“We are now facing unprecedented disruption and sabotage by drones on our soil,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said in a statement announcing tougher visa rules. “Traveling and circulating freely within the EU is a privilege and not a given. »
The spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, was irritated by this decision.
“The European Commission apparently asked itself: ‘Why does Western Europe need solvent tourists when there are illegal migrants living on welfare and Ukrainian dodgers?’”
The EU suspended its “visa facilitation agreement” with Russia after the large-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and decided to “deprioritize” the granting of visas to Russian nationals, making it more time-consuming to obtain a visa.
Result: the number of visas issued to Russians increases from more than 4 million in 2019 to around 500,000 in 2023.
The new measure makes visa applications more expensive but does not constitute an outright ban.
The commission also pressed Serbia this week to stop granting citizenship to Russians, which then makes it easier for them to enter Europe, saying it “poses potential risks for EU security.”
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Dasha Litvinova in Tallinn, Estonia, contributed to this report.
