EU commissioner urges member states to cut visas for Russian citizens

The European Union's internal affairs commissioner has urged member states to reduce the number of visas issued to Russian citizens, saying current levels are incompatible with support for Ukraine. Magnus Brunner made the remarks during an informal meeting of EU justice and home affairs ministers in Dublin on Thursday. He said the bloc needed to do more to bring down visa numbers, which he described as still too high.

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Brunner said member states were being asked to reduce the number of visas they issue to Russian citizens. He noted that the figure was down from around four million visas a year before the war began, but said it remained excessive. He also said he agreed with the Baltic states' concerns and that more needed to be done.

Asked about a possible ban, he said he agreed with the idea in principle. The commissioner said it was difficult to reconcile support for Ukraine with the continued issuing of visas to Russian citizens. He said that "nobody understands that in Europe" and called on countries issuing significant numbers of visas to cut them back.

Ireland's justice minister, Jim O'Callaghan, said he was sympathetic to Baltic concerns about visas being granted for Russian tourism. He also said one discussion at the meeting involved the possibility of refusing visas to combatants, former combatants and diplomatic passport holders from countries seen as posing a threat to the EU. The comments come as EU governments continue to balance sanctions pressure on Russia with the practical rules governing travel into the bloc.

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Visa policy has become part of the wider political response to the war in Ukraine, with some eastern member states pressing for tighter restrictions on Russian travellers. The issue is especially sensitive in countries bordering Russia, where officials argue that ordinary travel can sit uneasily alongside the EU's public support for Kyiv. Brunner said the next steps would be decided by foreign ministers in the bloc's new sanctions package.

That suggests any wider change would still depend on political agreement among member states rather than an immediate EU-wide ban. The remarks also reflect continuing divisions over how far the EU should go in restricting Russian citizens, beyond the sanctions already in place since the full-scale war began. It remains unclear how many member states would back a sharper reduction in visas, or whether any proposal would extend to tourism, combatants or diplomatic passport holders.

The ministers' discussion in Dublin did not produce an immediate decision, and no timetable was announced. What happens next will depend on negotiations over the sanctions package and on whether enough governments support tighter travel rules for Russian citizens.

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