Seven European Union countries have asked Brussels for money to prop up tourism in regions shadowed by Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, turning the bloc’s latest crisis management exercise into a neat little lesson in how state power sorts winners from losers. Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia sent a letter to European Commissioners for Tourism and Cohesion, Apostolos Tzitzikostas and Raffaele Fitto, asking that the bloc’s proposed €2 trillion Multiannual Financial Framework help hotels, businesses and operators absorb the fallout from Europe’s security crisis.
Brussels, Capitals, and the Price of Fear
The ministers said tourism and finance sectors have been hit by geopolitical developments and security concerns linked to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, among other factors. They wrote that tourism flows have declined considerably in most of these regions and that small and medium-sized enterprises are facing reduced investor confidence, increased operational uncertainty and limited access to finance at a time when seasonal revenues are crucial for their year-round viability. That’s the language of the market meeting the language of war, with ordinary businesses left to absorb the shock while the EU apparatus drafts another strategy.
The ministers said they stand ready to engage in a constructive dialogue on the upcoming EU Strategy for Sustainable Tourism and wrote that they remain committed to working together with the Commission to build a resilient, competitive and sustainable tourism sector across all regions of the European Union. The strategy is a non-binding plan aimed at promoting competitive and sustainable tourism across the bloc and is expected to tackle overcrowding in tourist hotspots and cross-border mobility. Non-binding, naturally. Brussels loves a plan that can’t bind anyone except the people expected to live with the consequences.
Latvia’s Economics Ministry Parliamentary Secretary Jurģis Miezainis said every time an unnamed aerial vehicle strays into the small Baltic nation’s airspace, it sows fear among locals and foreigners. He said drone incursions immensely affect the tourism sector because tourism is very based on emotions. Miezainis said he would like a response from the European Commission regarding the conundrum affecting at least half a dozen countries along Europe’s eastern borders, where proximity to Russia is affecting who visits. Fear becomes a market variable. Airspace becomes a sales problem.
The Border Regime at Work
Miezainis said that when tourism falls through the cracks, there isn’t enough focus. He said drone incursions are followed by hotel and event cancellations, leading to lower turnover for small and medium-sized businesses. Many of the drones are reportedly Russian, but sometimes Ukrainian, and enter Latvia through the country’s east, as it shares a 449-kilometre border with Russia and Belarus. The drones mostly enter Latvian airspace over Latgale, an eastern region known as the Land of the Blue Lakes and dotted with over 2,000 small reservoirs.
The Latgale Tourism Association recently surveyed 94 tourism and hospitality businesses in the region. Its findings showed 72% of respondents suffered a decline in turnover and visitor numbers from June 2026 compared with June 2025, and one-fifth reportedly lost at least half their earnings over the 12-month period. Those numbers sit under the polished language of resilience and competitiveness like a boot under a tablecloth.
Miezainis said other factors may also be deterring tourists, including inflated airfare prices due to the war in Iran. He said many of these tourists were previously Russian and Belarusian, but the borders are virtually now closed. Latvia is now targeting new countries such as Japan, Canada and the United States to attract visitors, and Miezainis said the country is working with cruise ship operators, though cruise ships are very short term and the country is thinking more about the long term. The border closes, the market reroutes, and the same officials who talk about openness spend their time managing who can move, who can’t, and who gets priced out.
Who Gets the EU Solution
Despite national efforts, Miezainis said what is needed is an EU-wide solution. Data collected by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation showed 38% fewer tourists visited Latvia in 2022 compared with 2019. In the same period, Slovenia saw 42% fewer tourists and Finland 36% fewer. The European Commission’s latest cohesion report said Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine led to some regions experiencing a sharp reduction of investment, trade flows and economic activities, including tourism, as well as new economic barriers and job losses.
A European Commission spokesperson confirmed the letter had been received and said the EU executive would respond in due course, but could not comment in advance on the content of the reply. The spokesperson added that Brussels is taking into account the challenges facing the tourism sector across Europe as part of its preparatory work on the upcoming tourism strategy, including those affecting frontline regions. So the machine acknowledges the problem, files it under preparatory work, and keeps moving. The people on the edge wait for a reply while the institutions that manage Europe’s borders, markets and crises speak in the slow, careful language of administration.