Northern countries introduce permanent control over the entry of cars from the Russian Federation

Finland introduced round-the-clock control at its border with Norway to prevent the entry of cars with Russian license plates. Helsinki introduced a ban on their entry on September 16, but cars from Russia could enter Finland through Norway, which still allows them.

Earlier, entry of cars with Russian license plates was prohibited by Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. Vilnius made an exception for cars going to or from Kaliningrad. Along with Finland, Poland joined the ban on October 16.

Thus, Norway is currently the only country in the European Union that has a land border with Russia and continues to accept Russian cars. However, cars that had already entered could move between European countries thanks to the practically non-existent border control between them.

Norway is also introducing a ban on the entry of passenger cars registered in Russia from October 3. After this date, Russian car owners will be completely deprived of the opportunity to enter the European Union in their cars.

• On September 8, the European Commission clarified the procedure for applying sanctions, according to which the customs of the European Union countries have the right not to allow goods from Russia, the import of which is prohibited, into the territory of the bloc, including cars and personal belongings of Russians.
• A few days later, clarifications were published, according to which the customs authorities should pay attention primarily to cars.