YLE reveals how sanctions are avoided at the border between Finland and Russia
TRAFFIC Crossing the border between Finland and Russia has continued to some extent despite the fact that the European Union has banned entry for trucks registered in Russia and Belarus, reports YLE.
Since Russia does not react symmetrically to the measure, European trucks continue to reach Russia. They usually arrive in the country only briefly to unload or pick up cargo – sometimes even to change the tractor of the load being towed, according to the public broadcaster.
“If a Finnish towing vehicle has a Russian trailer, it is interpreted as a Finnish combination and it is perfectly legal to drive it across the border”, Jarkko FagerströmA customs inspector told YLE on Monday.
Freight traffic moves across the border also because not all goods are covered by sanctions.
– For example, aggregate and to some extent newsprint are imported from there. All kinds of goods that are not yet subject to sanctions, Fagerström said.
The amount of truck traffic across the border collapsed after the ban on Russian and Belarusian trucks issued by the EU on April 8. Since then, the volume has even been on the rise from time to time, partly due to the transition periods related to the sanctions.
For example, the amount of wood and wood products increased momentarily before the end of the transition period on July 10. Peat was recently transported across the border, especially through the Niirala border crossing in North Karelia, and the transition period for peat sanctions ends on Wednesday, August 10.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT