The EU Commission plans restrictive measures for issuing visas to Russian citizens. Eleven member states had previously applied pressure.
The EU Commission responded to demands from eleven European states, led by Sweden. It announced plans to propose new restrictive visa measures as part of the visa code revision next year to reduce security risks from Russian fighters. Last year around 478,000 Schengen visas were issued to Russian citizens, most for holiday trips to France, Spain and Italy. Current figures indicate up to 630,000 entries, predominantly for tourism. German politicians including Britta Haßelmann of the Greens and Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann of the FDP called on the federal government to push for stricter rules in Brussels. Jürgen Hardt of the CDU and Siemtje Möller of the SPD backed the plans. The Left parliamentary group opposed them and warned against restrictions for opposition figures.
