The draft decree would apply to import and transit container shipments coming to Russia via Finland, Estonia, Latvia and the Ukraine. Last week Finnish Minister of Transport Anu Vehviläinen informed EU transport ministers about the effects that the decree would have on freight traffic from the EU to Russia, a press release from the Finnish Government reads. -The draft decree on container traffic would create a major obstacle to international trade, Minister Vehviläinen said. From a climate policy and logistical standpoint it is prudent to make as many shipments by rail as possible, but shifting container shipments to rail cannot be done with a last-minute administrative decision, the minister said. Minister Vehviläinen believes that the container decree would hinder transports throughout the EU. At worst this scheme would paralyze all freight traffic bound for Russia via Finland, as the railroads do not have the rolling stock or rail capacity to handle such a large volume of containers, considering the new requirement to use rail modes only. In 2008 approximately 200 000 containers were transported through Finland alone; only 7000 (approx. 4%) of these were carried by rail.
