The Baltic countries made a similar decision at the beginning of the week. In the background is the Commission’s policy on the entry of cars with Russian license plates into the EU.
Maria Stenroos,
Hanna Hanhine
According to ‘s information, Finland prohibits the entry of Russian passenger cars.
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania made a similar decision this week.
Finland wants to follow the EU’s common stricter line. Foreign minister Elina Valtonen (collective) will hold a press conference on the subject today. shows it live.
The solution is based on the EU Commission’s policy, which the Commission made a week ago. By banning the entry of passenger cars registered in Russia, the Commission aims to prevent the evasion of sanctions.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia Margus Tsakhna reasoned in a briefing on Wednesday that the restrictions will have a greater effect when applied together, and this will increase the price Russia pays for the war.
According to ‘s information, cars with less than ten people registered in Russia would no longer be able to cross the border. There are some exceptions to the rule. There is no information on when the ban will come into force.
Finland has tightened its visa policy because of Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine. Traffic on the eastern border has decreased, but it is still relatively busy.
Currently, Russian citizens have the right to enter Finland from Russia, despite the travel restrictions, if they belong to a from ten special groups.
These include, for example, family members of Finnish citizens and foreigners living permanently in Finland, working with a visa or if they are transport and logistics personnel on duty, business travelers, students or own an apartment or real estate in Finland.
It is not yet known whether the future ban will also apply to some of these exceptional groups.
According to the Border Guard, the reasons for which entry is allowed in each case are not separately recorded.