The European Commission committed this Friday to implementing specific restrictive measures on the granting of Schengen visas to Russian citizens. The pledge comes as a direct response to coordinated pressure from 11 member states that denounced the fragmentation in the application of current standards.
The announcement was made by Migration spokesperson Markus Lammert, who confirmed the inclusion of these changes in the Visa Code review scheduled for next year. While the measure signals a tightening of rules, its immediate impact will be limited by the autonomy each member state retains in managing its borders.
The divide between member states
- The coalition led by Sweden includes countries such as Finland, Poland, and the three Baltic nations.
- The bloc argues that the unrestrained issuance of visas undermines the unity of European foreign policy.
- France, Italy, and Spain collectively processed more than 400,000 visas for Russians in 2025.
Policy clash data
While the average annual number of visas before the invasion was four million, this figure dropped to approximately 500,000 in 2025. However, the disparity in each country’s actions is evident: France leads the list with 180,000 authorizations, followed by Italy with 160,000, and Spain with 100,000.
Countries like France and Italy argue that the processing volume reflects tourism demand and that sanctioned individuals are not among the beneficiaries. Conversely, the dissenting coalition argues that the presence of Russian tourists in European resorts is a moral offense while the conflict in Ukraine continues.
Consequences and power contradictions
The fragmentation exposes a crisis of solidarity on the European flank. The difficulty in harmonizing visa policy reveals that, beyond security, there are economic interests linked to tourism that major European powers are not willing to sacrifice easily.
The review promised by Brussels for 2027 will attempt to close loopholes, but the resistance from capitals with high tourist flows suggests that the political debate over the “coherence” of the European Union will remain open. The effectiveness of these measures will depend on how binding the new rules become in the face of national sovereignty.
