European Commission to Propose Tighter Visa Rules for Russian Citizens The European Union is tightening the screws on Russian travel, but doing it slowly enough to look cautious rather than vengeful.

On one side are the hard‑liners: 11 Schengen countries that say the current patchwork of rules lets Russians shop for the easiest consulate, then roam the entire EU. Their joint push accuses member states of “uneven” application of existing guidance, warning that this “fragmentation” weakens EU leverage and sends “contradictory signals” at a moment when clarity is vital.

Backing them up, critical outlets highlight that the European Commission has now “promised to tighten visa issuance for Russians” after those 11 states called out the gaps in enforcement. The move is framed as overdue solidarity with countries that have long argued Russian tourist flows are a security liability in the context of the full‑scale war against Ukraine.

Brussels, however, is selling a different story: technocratic risk management, not blanket punishment. Commission spokesperson Markus Lammert says the EU will propose “targeted restrictive visa measures” to tackle “security risks stemming from hostile actions by third countries,” while declining to spell out the details. The measures are scheduled only for 2027, and officials stress that visa issuance formally remains a national competence, with Brussels limited to coordination.

Statistics also cut both ways. Critics note that 620,000 Schengen visas were still issued to Russians in 2025, up 10.2 percent year‑on‑year, with roughly three‑quarters of applications going through France, Spain, and Italy — the “soft underbelly” of the regime. EU officials counter that this is down sharply from pre‑war levels of roughly four million visas a year and that multi‑entry visas are increasingly being replaced by single‑entry permits.

The result is a classic EU compromise: tougher rules promised, specifics vague, implementation delayed — and both security hawks and civil‑liberties advocates left unsatisfied.