THE BELL WEEKLY: Many Russians surprised by European ban on imports for personal use

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Now, back to the news. This week, our main story is about how EU sanctions have been tightened to prevent Russians from bringing items as mundane as toothpaste into the bloc’s territory. Also, we’ll look at why Russian authorities are continuing to subsidize the country’s increasingly expensive mortgage rates, and at the last elections in Russia before Putin's presidential ballot of 2024.

Why cars and personal items could be confiscated

The European Commission made new clarifications in the sanctions regime against Russian citizens — and it became apparent that Russians are now barred from bringing any personal items into the European Union, from cars and laptops to simply a tube of toothpaste.

These “new” restrictions on Russians are described in the Sept. 8 update to the FAQs relating to sanctions against Russia.The update explains that any Russian-registered vehicle, whether intended for personal or commercial use, will be considered an illegal import and banned from entry into the EU.

The ban on Russian-registered cars is nothing new, having been implemented in 2022 in response to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The European Commission has merely provided up-to-date official confirmation. The implementation of the rules depends on the specific country. But earlier this summer, German customs aalready made reference to the ban and warned that it could confiscate the private cars in which Russians entered the country.

At least a dozen motorists were affected, including one case in which the German authorities impounded a car with Russian plates belonging to a Belgian citizen who drove into Germany. According to the Russian Embassy in Berlin, the German customs service continued to seize cars into the fall. At least one Russian managed to get his car back, with customs officials admitting that there were no grounds for confiscation.

The same Sept. 8 update explained that Russians’ personal items are also subject to seizure. The list includes not only passenger cars, but many other common possessions including laptops, cellphones, suitcases, leather and fur goods, jewelry, shampoo, toothpaste, yachts and toilet paper. The ban does not extend to gold jewelry intended for personal use.

The European Commission spokesman Daniel Sheridan Ferrie, speaking to The Bell, said that clothes worn by a person when crossing the border are unlikely to be used to circumvent sanctions. That is unlike, cars or other valuable items.

What’s next?

The enforcement and implementation of sanctions lies with the EU member states, the clarification explained. The relevant authorities in these countries should determine whether the legislation has been violated and apply the appropriate measures.

"Member states are obliged to comply with European sanctions. The European Commission periodically issues guidance to help member states understand their obligations, although guidance alone does not change the legal situation," Ferrie told The Bell.

Several Russian lawyers argue that confiscating personal items is unlawful, as Article 3i of the legislation prohibits the import or transfer of goods that “generate significant income for Russia.” This implies that the goods are intended for sale. “The fact that a Russian citizen is on the territory of another state, assuming he travelled there not on forged documents but on a legal basis, does not constitute a crime," said Vladimir Starinsky, chairman of the Starinsky & Partners law firm.

Pourquoi le monde devrait s'en préoccuper :

From a legal standpoint, the ban on importing personal items should have been enforced since 2022. But there have been no reports of European customs services confiscating laptops or toothpaste from Russian visitors. However, German customs impounded vehicles with Russian plates. While this is hardly a frequent occurrence, these incidents show that the European authorities have taken at least some steps to enforce sanctions legislation.

The ban on bringing personal items into the EU was widely discussed by Russians on social networks this weekend. These restrictions, if enforced strictly, will certainly pose problems for citizens.

Les autorités russes commencent à mettre fin au programme de prêts hypothécaires préférentiels

Avec l'augmentation du taux de base de la Banque centrale russe, les autorités russes ont commencé à durcir les conditions d'accès aux prêts hypothécaires préférentiels et familiaux. Auparavant, ce programme permettait aux Russes de bénéficier de prêts subventionnés pour acheter des maisons. Le programme consomme de plus en plus de fonds budgétaires, mais les autorités ne sont apparemment pas en mesure de procéder à des changements radicaux.

• Les prêts hypothécaires préférentiels et familiaux permettent aux Russes de contracter des prêts à des taux réduits (respectivement 8 % et 6 %) sous certaines conditions, telles que l'achat d'un appartement dans un nouvel immeuble. En règle générale, les familles russes ne peuvent pas acheter un logement sans hypothèque. Chaque mois, les banques reçoivent des fonds du budget de l'État pour subventionner le montant des intérêts perdus par rapport au taux de base, qui est généralement supérieur d'environ 3 points de pourcentage. Cependant, à la mi-août, pendant la crise monétaire, la Banque de Russie a soudainement augmenté son taux annuel de 8,5 % à 12 %, augmentant ainsi le montant qui doit être subventionné. Aujourd'hui, le taux moyen du marché pour un prêt hypothécaire en Russie tourne autour de 15 %.
• Le marché hypothécaire russe continue de croître rapidement malgré la guerre et la crise économique. Les derniers chiffres du régulateur montrent que 56,1 % des hypothèques font partie du programme préférentiel. Au total, le portefeuille hypothécaire a augmenté de 11 % pour atteindre 162,6 milliards de dollars depuis le début de l'année 2023.
• À mesure que le taux de base augmente, entraînant une hausse des taux des prêts commerciaux, le système de prêts hypothécaires préférentiels devient un nouveau casse-tête pour le gouvernement. Plus le taux de base est élevé, plus il faut de fonds budgétaires pour subventionner le régime hypothécaire afin de combler la différence. Cependant, la Banque centrale a averti à plusieurs reprises par le passé que les prêts hypothécaires à taux réduit augmentaient les risques sur le marché hypothécaire. Par exemple, ils peuvent entraîner un déséquilibre sur le marché des nouvelles constructions et des logements pré-occupés (les premières sont 40 % plus chères que les seconds).
• Aujourd'hui, les autorités envisagent d' apporter des modifications relativement mineures aux conditions d'octroi. Le dépôt minimum devrait passer de 15 à 20 % et la subvention maximale disponible pour les banques pourrait être réduite de 0,5 %. Mais les banques qui accordaient des prêts hypothécaires préférentiels pour les maisons situées dans les zones rurales ont déjà mis fin à ce programme en raison du taux de base élevé.

Pourquoi le monde devrait s'en préoccuper :

Ces premiers pas semblent insignifiants, mais ce n'est pas surprenant. À l'approche des élections présidentielles de 2024, les autorités ne sont pas disposées à réduire les programmes sociaux pour ne pas compromettre la cote de popularité du président Vladimir Poutine.

A rehearsal before Putin’s election in 2024

Last week, Russia held federal and regional elections in 49 of its 83 regions, as well as in Crimea and the four regions of occupied Ukraine. Russians chose mayors, regional leaders and deputies for regional parliaments and the upper chamber of the Federation Council.

• This year’s elections are affected by the greatest pressure on candidates, observers and voters seen at any time in Putin’s 23-year rule, according to a report from the independent election monitoring organization Golos. Last month, members of Golos had their homes searched by the police, and their chairman was arrested. Many regions saw the blandest, most inconspicuous campaigning of modern times and in many cases the formal opposition candidates merely pretended to take part, the movement’s analysts wrote.
• This year’s elections officially lasted for three days, even though the elections themselves were labeled “single voting day.” Electronic voting was used in 25 regions, and Golos reported mass coercion to force voters to use online polling. Putin himself cast his vote electronically.
• Experts believe that online polling runs the risk of falsification and compromises voter anonymity. With electronic polling, it is hard to ensure that each vote is legitimate. “You can’t see if, for example, an employee of a state organization might have been forced to vote for a candidate, how they might have sat him at a computer, how they pressured his colleagues in the same way,” said Mikhail Klimarev, executive director of the Internet Protection Society.
• For the first time, elections were held in the occupied territories: Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. In these regions, the ruling United Russia party recorded an expected victory. Judging from photos from these regions, in many instances voters cast their ballots under the gaze of masked men carrying machine guns.

Pourquoi le monde devrait s'en préoccuper :

Wartime elections in Russia and the occupied territories of Ukraine passed with no big surprises. They can be seen as a dress-rehearsal for Putin’s 2024 election. However, there is still a question mark hovering over the role of online voting. It’s possible that the system will be further developed to cover a wider geographical area, suggested pro-Kremlin analyst Alexei Chesanov.