The European Commission is trying to equate the personal belongings of Russian tourists with imports

The European Commission’s Directorate General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets has published a document that has caused a stir of discussion in Russia. It states, in particular, that citizens of the Russian Federation cannot even temporarily import cars and personal belongings into the EU, which some commentators included smartphones and laptops. Previously, German customs confiscated cars with Russian license plates from a number of Russian citizens, citing the same EU sanctions regulations, but the document was interpreted too broadly, and the property was seized. Lawyers interviewed by Kommersant consider the explanations of the European Commission to be a digest of statements by officials that have no legal force, but do not rule out that this “will give customs officers a free hand for abuses on the ground.”

Ten-page documententitled “Answers to Frequently Asked Questions”, on the topic of import, acquisition and transfer of goods, was published on September 8 on the website of the Directorate of the European Commission (EC).

• Particular attention of the Russian-speaking audience was drawn to the 13th point about whether tourists from the Russian Federation can “temporarily take” cars and other goods for “personal use” to the EU.
• The response from the EC Directorate states that this cannot be done, with reference to EU Council Regulation No. 833/2014.

This regulation (“On restrictive measures in connection with Russia’s actions to destabilize the situation in Ukraine”) was adopted on July 31, 2014.

• Art. 3i of this document provides for “a ban on the sale and import into the territory of EU countries of a number of goods (cargo), including cars (Annex XXI, code 8703).”
• The response from the EC Directorate emphasizes that goods from Annex XXI cannot be “temporarily taken” with you.

In the comments RBC lawyers reported that we were talking about laptops, mobile phones, suitcases and cosmetics. At the same time, a representative of the Estonian customs told the publication that all relevant information about sanctions against citizens of the Russian Federation is presented on the page of the EC Directorate.

Embassy of the Russian Federation in Finland, we note, September 10 recommended Citizens in this regard “refrain from traveling” to the country in cars “with Russian registration plates.” Tourists will not be able to import even paper napkins, towels and other sanitary products, as well as smartphones costing more than €750, she said “Rossiyskaya Gazeta” Executive Director of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) Maya Lomidze. Vice-President of ATOR Artur Muradyan later said that he was waiting for clarification on the ban on the import of personal belongings to the EU, clarifying that tourists are not canceling their reservations yet: “But this will discourage the last remnants of interest among Russians who do not intend to travel to the European Union.”

A lengthy statement from European Commission representative Daniel Sheridan Ferry added fuel to the fire. “If you cross the border with personal belongings, clothing that are on the prohibited list, this does not mean circumventing sanctions,” he said, but clarified that “cars are the object of the ban.”

The EU Delegation in Moscow recommended that Kommersant seek clarification from the European Commission.

All this caused a wave of heated discussion on social networks, as well as harsh statements from Russian officials. “I believe that this is simply racism,” said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova (quoted by TASS) — This is not a policy of sanctions, this is not a question of creating some additional benefits for the sinking economy of the European Union. This is racism as it is.” And Alexander Bashkin, a member of the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Construction, proposed as a response step “to determine a fairly wide list of personal items with which European citizens cannot enter the territory of the Russian Federation.”

Lawyers interviewed by Kommersant believe that the current clarifications of the EC directorate have no legal force.

“This is not a normative act, but simply a selection of answers from officials to frequently asked questions, and from different officials, which leads to the fact that the answers conflict,” notes Yuri Fedyukin, managing partner of the law firm Enterprise Legal Solutions.

As an example, he cites the answer to the sixth question, which states that there are no bans on the import of jewelry into the EU for personal purposes by private individuals, while “in the 13th answer to the question, which excited everyone, suddenly, in addition to cars, jewelry appears.” “Whether negligently or intentionally, the explanation is formulated in such a way that it states that the transportation of things is prohibited, without making exceptions for personal use,” points out Marat Samarsky, an adviser to the law firm Verba Legal. “If you follow the logic of the answer to the 13th question, it turns out that any property imported into the EU is equivalent to import. From the point of view of customs law, this does not stand up to any criticism,” Mr. Fedyukin is sure. “From a legal point of view, nothing has happened yet. The document is advisory and, obviously, political in nature. But the clarifications will make flights to the EU from the Russian Federation more hectic,” believes Guskov & Associates lawyer Stefan Bozo.

Delcredere Bar Association lawyer Artem Kasumyan recalls that the EC’s clarifications on the Russian sanctions regime emphasize that “only the EU court is authorized to interpret EU law,” and “authorized bodies of EU member states and EU persons can, but are not obliged to, use the recommendations.” Marat Samarsky considers the publication of the EC Directorate to be an “interpretation of the regulations.” “The regulation itself has supreme force in the territory of the member countries and is obligatory for enforcement by everyone. The EC clarifications are advisory in nature, but in practice they can be used by the competent authorities of the EU member states as an explanatory act, especially in the countries of Northern and Eastern Europe. When enforcing law, authorities will be guided by internal conviction, adjusted for political will and available resources,” he believes. Stefan Bozo does not rule out that the EC’s clarifications “will give customs officers a free hand for local abuses, especially in the most unfriendly countries towards the Russian Federation.” Artem Kasumyan recommends refraining from traveling to the EU by car, but in general does not think that Russian citizens “should somehow change their behavior.”

“A super-strict interpretation does not meet the interests of European countries that are extremely popular in terms of tourism, and will also require enormous resources for implementation,” says Mr. Samarsky.

In case of incidents with property, Mr. Kasumyan advises appealing against the actions of customs officers in administrative and judicial proceedings, emphasizing that the court “has the authority to take interim measures if the situation is urgent and the applicant may suffer irreparable and significant damage.” “The EU court may well side with individuals whose personal property may be seized. This position is consistent with the protection of human rights and the goals of sanctions regulation,” he adds.

Let us recall that in June 2023, in the EU, German customs confiscated several cars with Russian license plates. Thus, the Hamburg customs police seized an Audi Q3 from a Russian resident in Germany, Ivan Koval. However, in July, the authorities gave the relocant his property after a complaint to the prosecutor’s office. Initially, customs officers referred to the same EU sanctions regulation No. 833/2014 and its Article 3i, which were interpreted excessively broadly, in fact equating imports with the importation of cars for personal purposes, lawyers explained to Kommersant (see “Kommersant” dated July 15).

Alexander Voronov, Anna Zanina