The Latvian Interior Minister, Rihards Kozlovskis, urged EU member states not to issue additional Schengen tourist visas to Russian citizens, claiming they pose a threat to the national security of the EU.
Since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, the EU has suspended its visa facilitation agreement with Russia and imposed travel restrictions. Latvia, along with Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Finland and the Czech Republic, has banned tourist visas for Russian citizens. Norway, which shares a border with Russia and is not an EU member, has also closed its borders to Russian tourists and other “non-essential” visitors.
Kozlovskis stated at the presentation of the Schengen Barometer in Brussels that the EU “must acknowledge” it is in a “hybrid war” with Russia and that this daily work of security authorities at the border and in the country is affected. He urged the EU to “take the threat seriously” which Russian tourists allegedly pose to the internal security of the EU and emphasized that a complete visa ban for these individuals is the “moral duty” of the EU.
Kozlovskis claimed that Latvia has experienced “illegal border crossings and sabotage acts” including the arson of an occupation museum, drone incursions and propaganda attempts to influence public opinion.
According to the Schengen Barometer, the number of Schengen visas issued to Russian passport holders increased by 25 percent in the past year, exceeding 500,000, despite the sanctions against Russian applicants.
Italy received the most visa applications from Russians, accounting for 28 percent of all requests and issued 134,141 visas, making it the main destination for Russian tourists in the Schengen area, according to the data.