Stop cars from Russia into the EU
The sanctions introduced by the EU on Russia for the brutal aggression against Ukraine have always been a topic of debate, some say they don't work (false), some say they are exaggerated (pro-Russian), some say they are not enough. One thing is certain, they work and are wearing deep, albeit slowly, the Russian economic and social fabric. Of course we expected a vertical collapse of Russia under the hammering of sanctions, but logical reasoning in terms of economics and sociology cannot be applied to a terrorist state where elections are a pure exercise in style and whose population is kept in a of recklessness and poverty enough to be able to tolerate anything. It's difficult to take something away from someone who has nothing. The only reasonable and unconventional voices are either in prison or under three meters of ground.
In fact, the Russian population does not seem to have felt the pinch that much and everyone has happened to see Russian families calmly on leave as if nothing had happened in our cities or in holiday places. However, something is slowly changing.
Immediate seizure for cars registered in Russia
An update of the EU regulation 833/2014 on the subject of sanctions on Russian goods it was issued on 11 September 2023 and provides a precise directive to the member states of the European Union: all cars registered in Russia of every engine capacity and for every use (both private and business) must be placed under arrest.
The note is clear and obvious and the first European border states are already putting these regulations into practice. Poland and the Baltic states have seized the opportunity and have already confirmed the application of the legislation, their customs are already in action.
The rule also applies to cars already within EU territory.
Laptops, smartphones and clothes are also on the list of sanctioned goods
If the rule were applied in the strictest manner, a Russian citizen stopped at customs would have to hand over almost every item of property in his possession to the staff. Indeed clothes, technological products (such as smartphones and laptops) and jewelery are also sanctioned goods and could not be introduced into the European Union even if for personal use (you can find the official regulations and the entire list of goods subject to sanctions here). Obviously this note leaves a lot of room for the interpretation of the individual EU state and, unfortunately, we do not believe that it will be strictly applied for these types of products.
However, the satisfaction remains that a first step is being taken to make it increasingly difficult for Russians to enter our borders.
Russian citizens in the EU, a danger that is too underestimated
There has never been enough talk about how dangerous the circulation of Russians in the states of the European Union was, at least until February 24, 2022, when the entire civilized world opened its eyes to the enormous quantity of spies who had entered the country. our society and how much damage they had caused to our democracies.
However, there is also an ethical factor. With what state of mind can a citizen of Ukraine experience the presence of Russians in our cities, on our beaches, in our places of daily life? How many Russians in favor of the war in Ukraine, when not directly returning from the front on leave, were a few centimeters away from someone who lost friends and family in this tragedy?
We also know very well the rudeness and incivility of a people who have often made our cities their amusement park, flaunting their superiority with rubles in the name of an illogical and bloody Russian suprematism. How much longer do we have to endure this?
Let us remember that Russian citizens ARE NOT INNOCENT. They are part of the Kremlin's war and propaganda machine, even if conditioned by one-way information they conformed like sheep to every abuse perpetrated by the international criminal putin. Collective guilt is a crime real, it is not abstraction.
Russians in the European Union, a first step, but still too little
The problem of the movement of Russians in the EU is still a hot topic, certainly the first step towards greater restrictions has been taken, but it is not enough, the pressure must be increased, the Russian citizen must also be made to feel that this war concerns him too, because a apparently even though the drones fly above their heads almost every night, they don't seem to have noticed.
We hope that this addition to the regulation on European sanctions will be applied seriously by all European states and we expect that it will not end here, even if our democracies will struggle a lot in legal terms to approve laws that completely suspend their circulation. It is the other side of the coin for those who find themselves living in a democratic country that must respect certain legal standards, even in the face of a threat that doesn't care much about laws and international judgment.
