Finnish government to close border with Russia in bid against ‘orchestrated’ migration

The Finnish cabinet decided to close four border crossings in south-eastern Finland on Thursday to counter the recent increase in “illegal traffic” from Russia, Finnish Prime Minister Peter Orpo and Foreign Minister Mari Rantanen said at a press conference on Thursday.

In response to an increasing number of asylum seekers with inadequate travel documents crossing Finland’s eastern border with Russia in recent days, Finland will be closing its border stations of Imatra, Niirala, Nuijamaa and Vaalimaa in South Eastern Finland overnight on Saturday.

“These are strict and exceptional measures, but they are necessary to stop the illegal traffic now,” Prime Minister Petteri Orpo of the National Coalition Party and Interior Minister Mari Rantanen of the Finns Party announced at Thursday’s press conference, adding that the number of asylum seekers was rising faster than the government had expected and stricter measures had been prepared.

The cabinet’s decision is valid indefinitely until 18 February 2024 and will soon be debated in parliament through a statement by the prime minister.

This is the first application of new provisions in the Border Control Law, which was revised just over a year ago and gives the government the power to impose restrictions to avert a serious threat to public order, national security or public health.

Orpo and Rantanen justified the decision by saying that the number of border crossings had increased significantly in recent days, with Rantanen saying that the measures were a response to orchestrated actions from Russia and not about immigration policy.

“This is not a question of immigration or asylum policy, but of people being orchestrated to come here, and it is not the number that is central, but the phenomenon behind it.”, he said.

A source with knowledge of the file confirmed that the subject is a matter of concern at the highest level and has been taken very seriously in Helsinki.

“It’s about avoiding a Polish-Belarusian scenario from the outset. It’s about nipping it in the bud,” the source told Euractiv, referring to the migrant crisis at the Polish border in 2022, which Poland says was orchestrated by Belarus, with migrants being used as a political tool to pressure the EU.

At the same time, asylum applications will still be accepted at the Salla and Vartius border stations, a thousand kilometres North of Viborg. Raja-Jooseppi and Kuusamo in the north will also remain open indefinitely.

At the press conference, Orpo also said that Finland had been in contact with the EU and Norway, which also shares a land border with Russia, but made no mention of contacts with Russia.

Rear Admiral Markku Hassinen added that the Finnish Border Guard had been in contact with the Russian Border Guard and had expressed its concerns. However, they have received no answers as to why Russia has changed its policy and is now helping undocumented refugees to get to the Finnish border.

He spoke of a serious threat to national security that was already hampering the work of the authorities on the eastern border. Hassinen said he was ready to take swift and stronger action.

The ministers at the press conference would not speculate on future developments, such as whether more refugees would come through the forests, bypassing the border stations. Nor would they comment on possible refugee camps that might have to be set up on the Russian side of the Finnish border fence.

According to Orpo, now the main goal is to stop the traffic.

Rantanen  also promised an information campaign on social media with the message: “The border is closed. It is not worth coming to Finland.”

(Charles Szumski | Euractiv.com)

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