Latvia wants to ban cars with Russian and Belarusian registrations from staying in the country

The Latvian government is preparing a draft law on changes in the legislative framework that will prevent vehicles registered in Russia and Belarus from remaining in the country.

This is reported by Rubryka, referring to the statement of the Minister of Justice of Latvia, Inese Lībiņa-Egnere.

It is noted that this bill will also enable the country to legally confiscate cars registered in Russia and Belarus.

The planned changes will require owners of vehicles with Russian and Belarusian registration numbers entering the territory of Latvia to re-register these vehicles in the Republic of Latvia within a specified period and will determine the consequences and liability of vehicle owners in case of non-exit.

The Ministry of Justice explains that if the vehicle is not re-registered or taken out of Latvia within three months, there will be sanctions, up to confiscation of the car.

"Any guest who comes to Latvia must respect the laws and order of our country. Crossing the EU border on a vehicle registered in Russia, and therefore staying in Latvia, is a violation of sanctions," says Inese Lībiņa-Egnere.

She clarified that if cars with Russian and Belarusian license plates are not re-registered in time, they can be confiscated for the benefit of Ukraine to support its army.

We will remind that on September 8, the European Commission published an explanation regarding the long-applied restrictions on importing and exporting goods to or from Russia. It was clarified that cars and some goods fall under the ban, regardless of whether they are personal belongings of travelers.

The clarification of the European Commission was requested by Germany, which since the end of June has not only restricted the entry of Russian cars but is also confiscating them within the country, local media reported.

As reported, the European Commission explained that cars, phones, other equipment, and valuables may be confiscated from citizens of the Russian Federation when crossing the border with the European Union.

As previously reported by Rubryka, on September 13, Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia announced that, following clarifications from the European Commission regarding sanctions, they banned the entry of cars with Russian license plates.

Also, the Polish authorities will ban passenger cars registered in Russia from entering its territory from 00:00 on September 17.