11 European countries demand tighter visa restrictions for Russians

Source: Politico

Eleven European countries are urging the European Commission to impose additional restrictions on Schengen visa issuance for Russian citizens, according to a letter they sent to EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and EU Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner. Politico, Deutsche Welle, and the Polish outlet RMF24 all report on the letter.

The signatories are Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Czech Republic, Denmark, and the Netherlands, along with Norway and Iceland, neither of which is an EU member.

The letter’s authors note that in 2022 the European Commission suspended its simplified visa agreement with Russia and tightened its guidelines for processing Russian visa applications — but that those guidelines are being applied unevenly across EU member states, undermining the bloc’s unified position. The inconsistency, they argue, allows Russians to engage in “visa tourism,” seeking out countries with more lenient conditions.

In the authors’ view, Russian tourists are vacationing on European beaches and at resorts while rockets and drones continue to strike civilians and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine — a situation they consider unacceptable.

RMF24, citing the letter, writes that the 11 countries are demanding an immediate halt to Schengen visa issuance for Russians. Politico and Deutsche Welle do not use that language.

At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.

If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at reports@meduza.io.

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11 European countries demand tighter visa restrictions for Russians

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