European states press Brussels to restrict Russian tourist visas

An expanding coalition of European nations is demanding that the European Commission further restrict the entry of Russian tourists into the Schengen zone, opening a new front in the continent’s effort to step up pressure on Moscow over its war in Ukraine. In a jointly signed letter, interior and foreign ministers from nine EU member states—Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands—together with Norway and Iceland, called on Brussels to close loopholes that have allowed a significant flow of Russian visitors despite the fighting. The push comes as figures show Russian nationals received 623,451 Schengen visas in 2025, up from 565,719 the previous year, an increase that Stockholm’s migration minister, Johan Forssell, branded “insane” given that Ukrainians are dying on the battlefield while Russian tourists enjoy “beach parties and shopping weekends” in Europe. The signatories also warn of security risks, insisting that visa policy must become a tool of strategic pressure.

Moscow’s political class has responded with characteristic derision. Svetlana Zhurova, first deputy chair of the State Duma’s international affairs committee, argued that making life inconvenient for ordinary Russians would not shift the Kremlin’s calculus. “They will not increase pressure on the Kremlin this way—in fact, not in any way at all,” she told Lenta.ru. Her remarks highlight a persistent European dilemma: the 2022 suspension of the EU’s visa facilitation agreement with Russia and subsequent tightening of recommendations for consulates have failed to stem the flow, because national capitals retain considerable discretion. Some member states have continued to issue visas liberally, diluting the intended signal.

In parallel, the EU is rethinking its protective embrace for those fleeing the war. At a meeting of interior ministers in Luxembourg, officials discussed a proposal to exclude male Ukrainians of draft age from the Temporary Protection Directive, which currently grants residence and work rights across the bloc. The logic, endorsed by Stockholm, is that these men are legally barred from leaving Ukraine and should remain to fight. “They should be home, fighting for Ukraine’s future,” Forssell said. Cypriot deputy interior minister Nicholas Ionnides told journalists that “different ideas are in circulation” and no decision had been taken, with some governments exploring a geographic differentiation of beneficiaries. The debate comes as Switzerland, not an EU member, grapples with its own parallel pressures: from 2027, Ukrainians with protection status S will move onto regular social assistance, potentially raising cantonal costs by more than 40 percent.

Taken together, these manoeuvres betray a European establishment straining for new levers as the war grinds on. Shutting the door on Russian tourism, while emotionally resonant, may prove largely symbolic so long as enforcement divergence persists. Rolling back refugee protection for fighting-age men, however, touches on more fundamental legal and moral questions about the nature of temporary asylum. Europe’s credibility as a defender of international norms will be tested by how it balances strategic coercion against humanitarian obligations.