Eight EU member states have called on the bloc’s leadership to prepare a Schengen entry ban for people who have served in the Russian armed forces, marking the clearest coordinated push yet for an EU-wide response to a growing long-term security risk.

The initiative was confirmed on Friday by Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda, who said the leaders of the three Baltic states, Poland, Finland, Sweden, Germany and Romania had written jointly to European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Together with leaders from 🇱🇻, 🇪🇪, 🇵🇱, 🇫🇮, 🇩🇪, 🇷🇴 & 🇸🇪, we have addressed the President of the European Council @eucopresident and the President of the European Commission @vonderleyen regarding the threat posed by former Russian combatants.

We believe that one of the most…

— Gitanas Nausėda (@GitanasNauseda) March 13, 2026

The letter argues that former and current Russian combatants could pose a threat if allowed to enter the Schengen area, where internal border controls are limited and movement between member states is generally unrestricted. According to the text, the signatories warned that such individuals could be drawn into organised crime, extremist networks or hostile operations against EU states in the context of Russia’s wider hybrid campaign against Europe. They said the issue required “immediate, decisive and coordinated action” at EU level.

The eight capitals also pointed to the changing composition of Russia’s war effort. Their letter states that more than 180,000 people convicted of criminal offences have been released early in exchange for military contracts, adding to concern among neighbouring states that ex-combatants may become a pool of recruits for criminal or intelligence-linked activity after the war. The warning reflects arguments already made by Estonia, which has been pressing the issue inside the EU since January and has presented former Russian fighters as a potential asset both for Russian intelligence services and for organised crime.

The timing is significant. The Commission only adopted its first EU Visa Policy Strategy on 28 January, and that document already opens the door to targeted restrictions against specific categories of travellers where relations with a third country sharply deteriorate. Among the categories explicitly mentioned are “identified former and current combatants of aggressor state”. The eight governments are now asking the Commission to move beyond that strategic language and table concrete legal options, including targeted amendments to the Visa Code or other instruments that could be applied across the Union.

Their intervention is also linked to the practical reality that the number of Schengen visas issued to Russian citizens has been rising again. The signatories argue that, because a visa or residence permit issued by one Schengen country opens access to the wider area, the problem cannot be addressed solely through separate national measures. In their view, failure to act now could create “long-term vulnerabilities” that might still be avoided if the EU establishes a common approach before any post-war movement of Russian veterans towards Europe begins in earnest.

The proposal has been under discussion in Brussels for several weeks. At the end of January, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna used a meeting of EU foreign ministers to call for a coordinated blacklist of Russian veterans, arguing that Europe should not allow a route “from Bucha to Brussels”. After that meeting, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said many member states supported taking the idea forward. On 23 February, following the Foreign Affairs Council, Kallas said she and the Commission were already working to keep potentially large numbers of former Russian soldiers out of the Schengen area.

Estonia has not waited for an EU decision. It began using national powers in January to impose entry bans on identified Russian soldiers who had fought against Ukraine. Lithuania is now preparing a similar national measure, while also backing the search for a common EU framework. That dual-track approach suggests that some member states no longer believe national action alone is sufficient, especially given the legal and operational limits of policing movement inside Schengen once a person has entered through another member state.

The eight leaders want the matter discussed rapidly and reflected, if possible, in the conclusions of the March European Council summit. Whether the Commission moves straight to legislative amendments or proposes a more limited coordination mechanism remains unclear. What is clear is that the debate has shifted. What began in January as an Estonian security warning is now a joint demand from eight EU member states, including Germany, for the Union to treat former Russian combatants not simply as an immigration question, but as a Schengen-wide security issue.

First published on eutoday.net.