Norway will become the last country bordering Russia to impose a ban on cars with Russian licence plates.
State Secretary of the Norwegian Foreign Ministry Eivind Vad Petersson said that cars with Russian number plates would be banned in the country.
However, he did not specify when the ban would come into effect, stressing that the authorities were assessing the situation and only planning ways to implement the ban. State Secretary Eivind Vad Petersson reported:
“Norway will introduce restrictions on importing and using Russian-registered cars in Norway. We’re now looking at how this will be done and will come back quickly with effective measures.”
Norway decided to impose the ban after clarification from the EU Commission on the existing bans.
Earlier this month, it was announced that Russian citizens were banned from taking a range of personal items including personal cars, smartphones and even toiletries when travelling to the bloc countries.
While Norway is yet to officially introduce the ban on Russian-registered cars, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland have all implemented bans on passenger vehicles holding Russian licence plates over the past week.
Announcing Finland’s decision, the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the ban on Russian-registered cars has been taken in line with the clarifications made by the Commission of the EU.
The Estonian authorities also said that the decision to ban vehicles with Russian registration was taken in accordance with the Commission’s clarifications.
Announcing the ban, which came into effect on 13 September, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Cahkna said that Russian citizens could not enjoy the privileges of freedom in the country.
On the other hand, Russia has complained of the bans, saying that Russians are being discriminated against. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the numerous travel restrictions that the EU has introduced are making it impossible for Russians to enter the bloc.
