Finland has banned cars with Russian license plates from entering the country
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Finland, following the Baltic countries, prohibits cars registered in Russia from entering its territory. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic, Elina Valtonen, announced this to journalists, transmits Yle.
The ban will come into force at midnight on September 16. Cars with Russian license plates that are already in Finland can freely leave the country, but only until March 16, 2024.
Now only an EU citizen permanently residing in Russia, or a member of his family, a diplomat or an equivalent person can bring a car registered in Russia to Finland. The entry of cars is also allowed for “humanitarian reasons”. Valtonen explained that Helsinki considers it important to apply sanctions uniformly across EU member states.
On September 8, the European Commission (EC) published a clarification on the import of Russian vehicles into the EU countries, according to which Russian vehicles, regardless of whether they are used for private or commercial purposes, may be seized. How noted The media, in this way, the EU authorities are trying to stop the circumvention of anti-Russian sanctions. After this, the Russian embassy in Finland recommended against visiting the country in cars with Russian license plates.
Soon after the EC clarification, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia announced a ban on entry for cars with Russian license plates. Estonian Interior Minister Lauri Läänemets said that “restrictions are most effective when sanctions are imposed jointly.” In Helsinki it’s still September 12 talkedthat cars with Russian license plates can still enter Finland.
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