Camilla Jessen
A growing number of EU states support plans to limit Russian diplomats’ travel within the Schengen Zone.
Others are reading now
Poland and Czechia are leading a group of European countries that want to limit the movement of Russian diplomats in the Schengen Area, Rzeczpospolita and The Financial Times reported on April 15.
The effort, motivated by intelligence and security concerns, could result in an unprecedented rollback of Schengen’s core principle: freedom of movement.
The idea first came from Czechia in November 2023, when it called for banning Russian diplomats—believed to be agents from Russian military intelligence (GRU)—from traveling freely within the EU.
By June 2024, the proposal had support from Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, and Romania.
Together, they sent a joint letter to the EU’s top foreign affairs official at the time, Josep Borrell. Former NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg also backed the plan.
Not Diplomats, But Spies?
This is not about real diplomacy. These are basically spies,” said Colonel Jacek Maka, former head of Poland’s counterintelligence agency ABW. “Any step that makes it harder for Russia to spy in Poland or the EU is the right move.
In Poland, Russian diplomats are already restricted to three cities: Warsaw, Gdansk, and Krakow.
Their numbers have dropped to 21 people, about one-third of what it was before Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
Russian Sabotage in Europe Raises Alarm
The call to limit Russian diplomats comes after several cases of suspected Russian sabotage in EU countries. In 2024, fires were set at an IKEA warehouse in Vilnius and a shopping center in Warsaw.
Lithuanian officials believe Russian intelligence was behind both attacks.
Investigators said Ukrainian nationals, recruited by Russian agents, carried out the attacks. One of the suspects was a minor, raising concerns about how far Russia is willing to go to cause trouble in the EU.
Since the invasion of Ukraine, NATO countries have reported a sharp rise in Russian spying and sabotage.
The Schengen Area includes 27 countries where people can travel freely without passports. If approved, this plan would make an exception—stopping Russian diplomats from moving across borders and only allowing them to work in the cities where their consulates are based.