Lithuania and Estonia will follow EU recommendations to seize Russian cars

Estonia and Lithuania have declared their readiness to implement sanctions and confiscate cars with Russian license plates. Previously, the EC clarified that EU restrictions also apply to personal cars, laptops and smartphones.

The authorities of Lithuania and Estonia said that they intend to follow the recommendation of the European Commission to ban Russians from entering EU countries in cars with Russian registration and license plates, ERR reported, citing a statement by the Estonian Foreign Ministry and LRT, citing the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry.

On September 10, the European Commission clarified the rules for applying the existing sanctions, according to which entry into the EU countries with personal cars (customs code 8703 - passenger cars for transporting less than ten people) registered in RUSSIA will be regarded as prohibited import, even if they are used for personal purposes . and not in commercial ones. Also included in the category of goods prohibited for import are cosmetics, shower products, toothpastes, soaps, smartphones, cameras and other things (more than 160 items in total).

A representative of the European Commission later clarified to RBC that each EU country will decide for itself how to implement the sanctions.

“Anyone who crosses the border, whether a Russian citizen or an EU citizen, with plates registered in Russia, if he does not have documents confirming that he is in transit to Kaliningrad, he should know that his car will be confiscated,” said Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Jovita Nelyupsiene, commenting on the EC’s explanations.

According to her, Russians can now cross the border “only if they have the right to do so,” either by bus or on foot.

The HEAD of the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Margus Tsahkna, also stated that the country’s customs authorities will follow the recommendations of the EC. “The updated European Commission directive on cars with Russian license plates supports our goals of deterring Russian aggression and increasing the enforcement of sanctions, and Estonia intends to follow the European Commission’s guidance,” he said.

Tsahkna said that this week the states bordering Russia will discuss the EC document “to find a common way to apply it.”

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Earlier , Germany announced its readiness to follow the EC's instructions . In a response from German customs to a request made at the request of RBC, it was stated that “no general exception is provided for personal use by persons entering from Russia.” “Items subject to embargo may be detained or confiscated for further processing. Inspections at customs points aimed at enforcing the embargo are carried out with a risk-based approach,” the department said.

At the same time, Finland refused to follow the EC recommendations. The Finnish Foreign Ministry said that cars with Russian license plates can still enter the country, and if another decision is made, it will be announced in advance.

Russian authorities have repeatedly criticized Western sanctions and called them illegal. Acting head of the Federal Customs Service Ruslan Davydov called the ban for Russians on the import of personal belongings “complete lawlessness,” but ruled out a mirror response. At the same time, the head of the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building, Andrei Klishas, ​​said that “only reciprocal restrictions on EU citizens can influence the enraged European bureaucrats and influence the abolition of such discriminatory rules.”

In April last year, the EU also stopped allowing trucks registered in Russia and Belarus. We are talking about a ban on road freight transportation across the EU, including transit. It was decided to maintain transit to the Kaliningrad region for vehicles registered in Russia.