Internal affairs ministers of EU member states discussed this issue, raised in a letter by Poland, Norway, the Baltic states, and nine other Schengen area members, at a meeting in Luxembourg on Thursday.
“It is very disturbing to observe how more and more Russian tourists enjoy leisure trips to European beaches and resorts while missiles and drones continue to strike civilians and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine,” the letter, seen by news agency AFP, states.
The bloc suspended a visa facilitation agreement with Russia and last November took steps to prevent the issuance of multiple-entry visas to Russians.
The number of visas issued to Russians has sharply decreased – from over four million before the war to approximately half a million in 2024.
Hardline EU countries say this is not enough and complain about the uneven application of current rules within the bloc.
According to the letter, over 470,000 tourist Schengen visas were issued to Russian citizens in 2025, many of which were multiple-entry.
“I want no more shopping weekends. I want no more luxury trips to Europe while Ukrainians are dying on the battlefield,” Swedish Migration Minister Johan Forssell (Johanas Forselas) told reporters upon arriving for talks in Luxembourg.
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“This situation is completely insane and needs to be stopped,” he said.
Tourist favorites France, Spain, and Italy are among the countries issuing the most visas.
The letter dated June 2 calls for “new restrictive and mandatory visa measures,” stating that easy access to Europe also poses security risks, as there are fears that the Kremlin seeks to destabilize the bloc with hybrid attacks.
Better measures are needed to identify Russians who have fought in Ukraine and prevent them from entering Europe, the signatories wrote.
While proponents argue that ordinary Russians should feel the impact of the war more, other EU countries say it would be wrong to use visa restrictions as a blanket punitive measure.
Travel to Europe also helps Russians, who are in a tightly controlled media environment at home, to get acquainted with different narratives and ideas, some EU diplomats say.
Russian opposition figure Yulia Navalnaya said in September that broad restrictions would be a serious mistake, as they would feed the Kremlin’s narrative that Europe is hostile to all Russians.
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