BERLIN, September 17. /TASS/. The European Commission (EC) wants to make it harder for Russian citizens to obtain visas as part of the next sanctions package against Russia, the Handelsblatt newspaper reported, citing sources in the European Union.

The publication noted that member countries issued more than 600,000 Schengen visas to Russians in 2024. The European Commission intends to establish standardized rules and ensure that all EU members uniformly restrict the issuance of Schengen visas to Russians.

Among the countries that most frequently issued visas to Russian citizens last year were Italy (more than 152,000), France (123,890), Spain (111,537), and Greece (59,703).

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated in an interview with TASS earlier that if the European Union introduced new visa restrictions, Russia would respond in line with its national interests.