EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Wednesday there was broad support among EU Member States for tougher visa restrictions on Russian tourists.
Speaking after an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Ireland, Kallas said it was unacceptable that Russia was continuing to bomb Ukraine while Russian tourists were still able to travel to Europe and enjoy its hospitality.
She noted that, in July and August, Russia had killed more civilians in Ukraine than at any earlier point in the war.
Her remarks came after German media reported on Wednesday that one of the suspects in the failed drone attack on Leipzig/Halle airport had entered the Schengen area on an Italian tourist visa issued in Minsk, the capital of Belarus.
Kallas said it was up to the German authorities to confirm or deny that report. She added that, if the report proved true, it would clearly show that visas could be used by people seeking to harm the European Union in order to enter it.
The Estonian politician said some Member States had already warned that tourist visas were being used for acts of sabotage.
“If that is true, I hope it will also convince some Member States that were opposed to stricter visa restrictions that this is not only about Ukraine’s security, but also our own,” she said.
At the beginning of June, 11 European countries, mostly from the north of the bloc, urged the European Commission in a letter to introduce new measures to reduce the number of Russian tourists travelling to Europe.
Belgium was not among the signatories at the time, but Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot also supports the proposal.
