Reuters – Sweden and 10 other countries sent a letter on Wednesday to European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and migration commissioner Magnus Brunner saying the number of tourist visas issued to Russians had risen despite Russia's war in Ukraine.
They urged the Commission, the EU executive body, to urgently tighten and harmonise restrictions, and said uneven rules risked undermining security and sanctions policy on Russia over its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The Russian government did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Russian officials say European countries are gripped by anti-Russian hysteria and accuse them of being openly racist against Russians.