11 European countries demand stricter entry conditions for Russians into the Schengen area. The request was forwarded to the European Commission.
In a letter addressed to the authorities, the administrations of Sweden, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Norway, and Iceland request the adoption of “new restrictive and coercive measures”.
The signatories find it “deeply disturbing” to see that an increasing number of Russian tourists are taking advantage of stays in Europe, while Russia continues its attacks against civilians in Ukraine, writes news.ro. The document states that 477,878 visas were granted to Russian citizens in 2025, most of them allowing multiple entries into the Schengen area.
Apart from this political symbol, the 11 countries invoke security reasons. Their governments believe that access to European territory could facilitate the movement of Russian combatants who have fought in Ukraine and ask the European Commission to better identify active military personnel and veterans, to whom entry into the EU should be prohibited.