The EU has drafted the legal basis to slap visa bans on Russian soldiers, but won’t decide when to make it operational until after the long summer holiday break – when many Russians go to France, Italy and Spain.
Nikolaj Nielsen
Russian ex-combatants who are fighting or have fought against Ukraine since early 2022 are set to be slapped with an EU visa-entry ban later this year, possibly by October.
“It is a very important measure also in terms of security for Europe,” said an EU official, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
The proposal is part of a much larger 21st sanctions package against Russia, agreed and published on Thursday (24 July). It will apply only to short-stay visas, following objections from Italy and France who are worried about maintaining lucrative tourist flows.
Italy had issued over 160,000 Schengen area visas at its two Russian consulates last year – almost 8,900 more than in 2024, while France issued over 156,000 visas (32,657 more than last year, representing a 26 percent increase).
The original proposal had included anyone affiliated with the Russian armed forces. But France and Italy insisted the ban only apply to combatants.
The published text in the sanctions package reflects those worries and is only an agreed-in-principle visa and entry-ban.
It is not yet operational as it still needs further work, including on the type of evidence required to prove that someone actually fought in the war.
The commission says it will sort out such details before passing the measure back to the council, which represents the member states, for final approval, with the aim of doing so after the summer holidays and peak tourist season.
“Sometime in the autumn, October ideally, because a few things have to be done,” said a second EU official.
Specifically, the text says EU states will be obliged to refuse short-stay visas to returning combatants who serve or have served in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation since 24 February 2022.
“Many of those combatants were previously convicted and were recruited from Russian prisons and sent to the front,” says the text, noting they have been radicalised by Russian tactics, have witnessed atrocities against the Ukrainian population or have participated in war crimes themselves.
“If allowed to travel or relocate to Europe, they could become involved with organised crime or extremist movements or become agents of hostile operations,” it says.
