Will The Price Of Cars From The EU Rise Sharply In Belarus?

Brussels is changing the rules.

There is talk in the EU that owners of used cars will become more difficult to sell them because of the planned innovations by the European Commission.

All this means that it may become more difficult for Belarusians to buy a used car in Europe at a reasonable price. Telegraf.news has learned what is known.

On June 17, 2025, with the start of the Danish presidency, the Council of the European Union adopted draft amendments, praising the Commission for its ambitious reform. The European Commission explained the tightening of the rules of trade in used cars by concern for the environment and the fight against illegal export of cars.

The changes may directly affect both European car owners, who have so far sold cars privately without serious formalities, and visiting Belarusians, who despite all the obstacles continue to bring from Europe used cars up to 5 years old.

Digital Vehicle Passport

The main thing in the innovations is that the European Union is preparing to introduce a "digital vehicle passport", which should provide full tracking of the history of the car - from the moment of production to disposal.

This means that Europeans selling a car will have to prove that the vehicle was in a usable condition at the time of sale. And this will require going through a real "bureaucratic nightmare", recording a video of the car at the time of sale, obtaining expert opinions and other documents.

Naturally, all this will make used cars sold more expensive. And the EU authorities know it and do not even hide it, as one of the goals of the innovations is to reduce the export of "used cars" to third countries.

All because since 2023 the European Commission is working on amending the rules for vehicles with expired lifetime (ELV). As part of the European Union's Green Deal, they want the entire life cycle of a car - from production, sale to recycling - to become part of Europe's closed-loop economy. That is, used cars must remain inside the EU and go for recycling.

To this end, Directive 2000/53/EC, which came into force in 2020, was adopted, requiring that at least 85% of a vehicle's weight be recycled and 95% be recovered.

How "Auto Junk" Will Stay in the EU

Brussels says directly that it is paying special attention to the export of old cars. The EU wants to eradicate the practice of exporting them to third countries, which has been common for years. Although what the EU considers "scrap" is often resuscitated in those countries, it is a serious environmental and safety issue for the European Commission.

The EU has also said it plans to introduce new technologies at customs at EU borders that will distinguish "car junk" from actually serviceable used cars. However, this means installing additional systems, testing them and approving their use, i.e. additional procedures. And this, of course, will affect the price of those five-year old cars brought to Belarus by car dealers.

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