Deutsche Welle (DW), citing informed sources in the EU, пишет that this concerns amendments that would make it possible to restrict visa issuance to entire categories of applicants, including citizens of a particular country and people making “non-essential trips”.
According to DW’s interlocutors, the trigger for the activation of these ideas was a series of sabotage acts in Europe, which Moscow is accused of, including the sabotage involving a drone loaded with explosives at Leipzig Airport.
At the beginning of the month, Bloomberg also reported that the EU is discussing restrictions on the entry of Russians. Among the options mentioned were reducing the issuance of tourist visas, restrictions on the movement of Russian diplomats across the union’s countries, and new sanctions against the shadow fleet.
After the discovery of booby-trapped drones at Leipzig Airport, Germany directly accused Russia of involvement in organizing the sabotage and announced tighter visa policy and border control with regard to Russians.
In Berlin, they said that Russian tourist trips cannot continue in their previous format, and that the number of visas issued is “too high” and needs to be reduced. In addition, the EU has begun practical work on visa restrictions for participants in the “SVO”, including former ones, a senior representative of the bloc told DW at a briefing on Tuesday.
According to him, the legal basis for such restrictions was laid in the 21st package of anti-Russian sanctions, but EU countries still need to refine the mechanism for applying the ban. The European Commission is expected to present proposals to revise the Visa Code at the beginning of 2027, after which they will have to be approved by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU.
Sources
