Published: Less than 20 min ago
The Russian invasion war has caused new problems on the Finnish-Russian border.
In a few weeks, thousands of Russian cars could be banned from driving in the country, writes Hufvudstadsbladet.
At the same time, Finnish motorists who cross the border may be forced to buy Russian car insurance.
Both Russian and Belarusian cars will have problems from the first of June. In that case, the countries’ traffic insurance ceases to apply in Finland.
The country, like other EEA countries and Switzerland, has terminated the agreement on a so-called green card with the countries due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The card is proof that a vehicle has valid traffic insurance and therefore neither Finns nor Russians crossing the border by car have not had to obtain local insurance.
“I hope the Russians understand the seriousness of the matter”
But now there will be a change in that. If you do not have local traffic insurance, you will be banned from driving.
“From one day to the next, thousands of vehicles are banned from traffic. I hope that Russians living in Finland understand the seriousness of the matter and buy insurance in good time. The police can take the registration plates from an uninsured vehicle and in addition to retroactive insurance fee, other penalties can also be imposed,” says Janne Jumppanen, director of the Traffic Insurance Center in a press release.
And the same applies to Finnish drivers in Russia. The insurance must be taken out immediately when the vehicle has crossed the border and cannot be done online.
Advises against travel to Russia
Another difficulty may be that the payment must be made in rubles, to a Russian bank account.
At the same time, Hufvudstadsbladet points out, the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs advises against all travel to Russia.
The Russian invasion has had several consequences for Finnish-Russian relations and the border areas. Right now, Finland is building a border fence several kilometers long against its neighbor to the east.
The trains that used to run between Helsinki and St. Petersburg have stopped running.