Bulgaria introduces entry ban to cars with Russian plates

By Ahmet Gencturk

ATHENS (AA) - Bulgaria introduced a ban on cars with Russian registration plates, according to media reports.

The decision is in line with the EU’s guidelines on Sept. 11, which urged member states to prohibit vehicles carrying a Russian license plate, state-run BTA news agency said Monday.

It concerns passenger and other cars with Russian registration plates designed to transport up to 10 people, including personal ones, it noted, adding that cars purchased in Russia for the diplomatic and consular missions of the EU and the member states are exempted.

Bulgaria became the latest EU country to ban the entry of Russian-registered cars, after Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland and Poland.

On Sept. 11, the European Commission confirmed that sanctions introduced against Russia for its “special military operation” in Ukraine include the ban on Russian-registered vehicles crossing EU borders.

Bulgarian Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov said Sept. 14 that the document on the ban had arrived.

He then noted that the document was to be examined and a decision was to be taken on how to proceed.