The European Union is preparing to tighten its stance on issuing visas to Russian citizens. This was reported by Politico, citing a European Commission official.
According to him, by the end of the year the EU will publish new regulations for the bloc countries, which will contain stricter recommendations for issuing visas to Russians.
It is noted that eastern EU countries have long lobbied for similar restrictions. However, issuing visas remains within the competence of EU member states, so the European Commission cannot impose a complete ban on entry of Russian citizens into the bloc. As a result, visa policies differ significantly among the association's member states.
According to the latest data from the European Union, in 2024, about 542 thousand short-term visas were issued to Russian citizens for travel to EU countries and other Schengen countries, including Switzerland. This is approximately 20% more than in 2023, but significantly less than the data for 2019.