Recently, EU politicians have frequently discussed Russia's "hybrid attacks," claiming that Russia is using such activities to threaten European security. According to a report by the European edition of Politico News Network on October 11th, the EU is considering tightening visa restrictions on Russian citizens in order to strengthen defenses against so-called "hybrid attacks."
Swedish Justice Minister Gunnar Strömer said that several EU member states are worried about Russia's "mixed warfare tactics," and these countries believe that European security is under threat. Strömer supported imposing more visa restrictions on Russia, saying, "I believe that our system has obvious vulnerabilities that could be exploited by the enemy."
Stremer revealed: “As far as I know, the European Commission is preparing a proposal that will be announced in January next year. From a Swedish perspective, we hope it can be released earlier.”
Estonia proposes a complete ban on Russian veterans entering the European Union. Estonia's Foreign Minister Margus Charakna has raised the so-called "hybrid attack threat," claiming that Russian veterans could, with the support of intelligence agencies, carry out attacks in Europe. He believes that stricter security measures within the European Union are "crucial" for EU security.
Reports indicate that EU member states will discuss the issue at the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Council of the EU on the 12th local time, and propose to impose further restrictions on Russian diplomats stationed in the EU.
The European Commission commissioner for Interior and Citizenship Affairs, Magnus Brunner, told Politico News Network that since the full-scale escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the number of tourist visas issued by the EU to Russian citizens has significantly decreased. “We urge member states to do more to reduce the issuance of visas to Russian citizens, and efforts are underway in this regard.”
Brenner claimed that it is “reasonable” for the European Commission to consider increasing visa restrictions, as it is “impossible to determine the true identities of these Russian tourists,” hence the EU urges member states to further reduce the number of visas issued.
Last year, the Schengen Area, consisting of 25 EU countries along with Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein, issued approximately 478,000 tourist visas to Russian citizens. Many of these visas were multi-entry visas.
Some European politicians have been frequently claiming that Russia is conducting ‘mixed attacks’, stating that Europe faces military threats from Russia. However, Russia has refuted these claims.
On September 25, Russian President Putin stated during an event in Saint Petersburg that many Europeans believe Russia is "about to launch an attack," and therefore they must prepare for related military actions and a "war against Russia." "I want to emphasize once again that we are not preparing any military actions against Europe, and we do not have such plans. Most importantly, there is no reason to do so."
