On November 2, the Latvian Saeima adopted amendments to the law “On Road Traffic” that effectively prohibit the use of cars registered in Russia in Latvia. This was reported by Delfi.
As required by the new law, the owner of a car with Russian license plates must re-register it in Latvia or take it out of the country no later than February 14, 2024.
After this date, cars registered in Russia will be able to move through Latvia only in transit (from border to border) for 24 hours and only once. In this case, the owner of the car will be obliged to submit information about it in advance.
Vehicles whose owners violate this law will be confiscated. It is planned that these vehicles will be transferred to Ukraine to help in the fight against the aggressor state.
The amendments to the legislation are based on the European Commission’s clarification that the sanctions imposed by the EU against Russia also apply to personal vehicles registered in Russia by Russian citizens.
The Baltic states have completely banned the entry of cars with Russian license plates since September 13.
- In February 2023, the Latvian parliament adopted amendments to the law on support for the civilian population of Ukraine, which provide for the possibility of transferring state-owned vehicles to Ukrainian ownership free of charge to support Ukrainian society.
- Cars confiscated from drunk drivers are also being donated to Ukraine.
