Have Monaco or EU rules changed for Ukrainian-registered cars since 2022 due to the war?

1. EU emergency rules: what changed and why

Following Russia’s full-scale invasion, the European Commission proposed and the EU adopted a temporary regulation that specifically relaxed requirements for Ukrainian driving documents: it allows people under EU temporary protection to continue using Ukrainian driving licences (including some expired ones) without exchanging them for EU licences and eases formalities for lost or stolen documents (Regulation (EU) 2022/1280, effective 27 July 2022) ^{[1] [2]}. The regulation was framed explicitly as solidarity and as administrative relief for people residing in the EU under temporary protection; member states also agreed transitional arrangements for Ukrainian-registered vehicles in some cases ^{[1] [2]}.

2. How long the EU measures last — finite, conditional relief

The EU regulation is temporary and tied to the temporary protection framework: it came into force on 27 July 2022 and includes limits — for example, a termination date no later than 5 March 2025 if protection status is lost earlier — meaning the special recognition is not an open‑ended change to normal EU vehicle/driver rules ^{[2] [1]}. Country implementation varied: Germany explicitly treated Ukrainian-registered vehicles as ‘international traffic’ for one year and set registration deadlines; other member states adopted different timeframes ^{[2] [5]}.

3. Monaco’s position — Schengen links but local registration rules persist

Monaco is integrated operationally with Schengen entry rules, so Ukrainians travelling short-term (up to 90 days in 180) use the same visa/Schengen procedures as EU visitors ^[3]. Sources note Monaco modernised vehicle registration processes in 2025 — changing renewal timetables and administrative practice — but they do not state Monaco introduced any exceptional rule specifically aimed at Ukrainian-registered cars because of the war ^{[4] [3]}. Available sources do not mention a Monaco-specific wartime exemption or new rule allowing Ukrainian plates to remain indefinitely in Monaco.

4. Practical differences across EU countries — uneven, local implementation

Although the EU regulation set an overarching temporary framework for driving documents, member states applied vehicle-registration and insurance rules differently: Germany required registration after a year and made arrangements for Ukrainian insurance (Green Card) and professional drivers; Poland reportedly allowed use of Ukrainian cars until temporary protection expired ^{[2] [5]}. Re-registration costs and environmental/technical standards also influence whether a Ukrainian-registered vehicle can stay on the road in each country ^{[6] [5]}.

5. Misleading claims about Ukrainian plates in Monaco — reporting and gaps

High-profile remarks in December 2025 claiming “half the supercars in Monaco have Ukrainian plates” (attributed to Donald Trump Jr.) circulated widely in media and partisan outlets ^{[7] [8]}. Independent fact-finding in the sources is limited: some debunks or cautions are referenced elsewhere (e.g., analysis on claims about supercars in Monaco), but the documents in the provided set do not provide empirical plate-counts or official Monaco data to confirm that assertion ^{[9] [7]}. Available sources do not mention official Monaco statistics supporting the 50% claim; several outlets relayed the claim without substantiating evidence ^{[10] [8]}.

6. What this means for Ukrainians and for readers evaluating claims

At the EU level, there was a clear, time‑limited policy response in 2022 to ease drivers’ ability to use Ukrainian licences while under temporary protection; implementation and the fate of Ukrainian-registered cars depended on national rules and deadlines ^{[1] [2] [5]}. Monaco follows Schengen entry rules and changed some administrative practices in 2025, but current reporting in the provided sources does not show Monaco enacted a special rule that broadly exempts or endorses long‑term presence of Ukrainian plates tied to the war ^{[3] [4]}. Claims about very large numbers of Ukrainian-plated supercars in Monaco appear in political commentary and partisan outlets in late 2025 but lack corroborating plate-registration data in the available reporting ^{[7] [8] [9]}.

Limitations: this analysis uses only the supplied sources; they include EU regulatory texts, national guidance (Germany), Monaco administrative notices, and media/partisan reports. These sources establish EU temporary rules and show variation among countries, but they do not contain Monaco vehicle-registration statistics or exhaustive country-by-country lists of subsequent legal changes beyond those cited ^{[1] [2] [4]}.