Estonia is expanding customs controls at the EU’s external border

From Thursday, August 8, 2024, Estonia will implement full customs control at the EU’s eastern external border with Russia. With the move away from risk-based checks on passengers and vehicles towards comprehensive controls, border crossings are likely to take longer, especially for freight traffic. According to Europol, this measure is intended in particular to prevent the transit and transportation of sanctioned goods that circumvent the EU sanctions against Russia through Estonia. The aim is to increase the country’s security and at the same time make it more difficult to supply the Russian war machine. The number of border crossings halved immediately – as expected, the checks will then be more time-consuming. The number of border crossings to Russia is therefore likely to be halved. “Every person and their luggage, as well as all vehicles and the goods they are carrying, will be rigorously checked in future,” explains the Estonian Tax and Customs Administration.

Source: Handelsblatt

Picture:Nikola Johnny Mirkovic