Bulgaria to prohibit entry of cars with Russian license plates

This development was confirmed by the Bulgarian publication 24 Chasa.

Anton Zlatanov, the Director of Bulgarian Border Police, announced that on October 2, Bulgaria will halt the entry of Russian cars into the country by day's end.

"We have been actively working on this since Thursday, and I'm confident that the ban on Russian passenger cars will be fully implemented in Bulgaria by the end of the day. It's important to note that this ban has been in place for trucks for several months now," stated Zlatanov.

It's worth noting that this ban extends to goods as well. Although Zlatanov couldn't provide exact figures on the monthly influx of Russian cars, he mentioned that it's not a substantial number.

Key points regarding the ban on cars with Russian license plates

To recap, on September 10, the European Commission imposed sanctions prohibiting Russians from entering EU countries with cars registered in the Russian Federation. Personal items such as smartphones, jewelry, and laptops belonging to Russians were also banned from import.

Additionally, Lithuania implemented a one-year ban on the transport of dual-purpose goods to and from the country, aiming to prevent them from reaching Russia and Belarus.

Starting September 13, Estonia barred cars with Russian Federation license plates from entering the country, citing sanctions. Lithuania and Latvia had adopted similar bans the day before.

Starting September 17, 2023, Poland banned cars with Russian license plates from crossing its border.

On September 15, Finland joined the list, announcing a ban on importing cars with Russian registration. The country emphasized the importance of uniformly enforcing EU restrictions on the Russian Federation. Vehicle owners in Finland are required to deregister their vehicles by March 16, 2024, which applies to all cars with Russian license plates.