From June 1, 2023, Romanian drivers driving in or staying in Russia and Belarus will no longer be covered by the Green Card system, so they must purchase border insurance when entering these countries or, if they are there, obtain a valid RCA insurance. Otherwise, they risk paying damages out of pocket if they cause an accident.

This was announced on Friday by the Bureau of Automobile Insurers of Romania (BAAR), which is the national Green Card office.

• Green book an international certificate of insurance, on the basis of which the owner/user/driver of the vehicle for which the document is issued is insured against civil liability for damage caused by this vehicle, in accordance with the legislation of each state for which the insurance document is valid.
• The “Green Card” insurance document can be valid only on the territory of the states whose national offices are members of the “Green Card” system.

SEE – GREEN CARD GUIDE

Why Green Card coverage will no longer work in Russia and Belarus

As of June 1, 2023, Romanian insurers no longer issue Green Card documents valid in the Russian Federation and Belarus, and Green Card insurance issued in these states is no longer valid in Romania.

This measure resulted from the termination of bilateral agreements concluded between the (national) Green Card offices of all Member States of the European Economic Area (EEA), thus including BAAR, and the national offices of the Russian Federation and Belarus.

According to this decision, owners of motor vehicles registered in Romania who wish to drive them on the territory of the Republic of Belarus or the Russian Federation or are in the respective states after June 1, 2023, are required to take out border insurance when entering these states, according to the insurance autocivilians, if they are already on their territory.

You can find out more about insurance terms and conditions, as well as companies that can take out border insurance in Belarus and the Russian Federation, on the BAAR website.

Starting from the same date, owners of (passenger) vehicles registered in Belarus and the Russian Federation who wish to drive them on the territory of Romania are obliged to either have a valid cross-border insurance taken out in an EEA member state or Switzerland, or to take out cross-border insurance in Romania.

Currently, in Romania, cross-border insurance can be purchased at Omniasig VIG.

How Romania and 11 other countries denounced the Green Card agreements with Russia and Belarus

The Green Card system operates on the basis of private law agreements concluded between national agencies of states that have joined Recommendation no. 5 of Geneva from 1949.

Termination of the contract can be carried out at the initiative of any office with 12 months’ notice.

However, taking into account the free movement in the space of the community, the national offices of the member states of the European Economic Area have concluded an agreement among themselves, according to which, if at least 1/3 of these offices denounce a bilateral agreement, all other offices will also denounce this agreement.

As 12 EEA National Representations terminated their bilateral agreements with the Russian Federation and Belarus National Representations in May 2022, all other EEA National Representations (including BAAR) terminated their respective agreements with a 12-month deadline ending on 31 May 2023. 23:59 CET.

The Bureau of Motor Vehicle Insurers of Romania has notified the competent authorities, namely the Border Police and the Traffic Police Directorate, of the suspension of green card insurance documents for vehicles registered in Belarus and the Russian Federation, starting from June 1. 2023, and that they will take self-imposed controls.

Photo source: Igor Akimov / Dreamstime.com