Finland wants to limit movement of refugees near border
Photo: Finland wants to limit the movement of refugees near the border (Getty Images)
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Finland sent for consideration a draft proposal on the introduction of the border crossing procedure. It concerns the enhanced examination of asylum seekers' applications submitted at or near the EU's external borders.
According to the draft law, the border crossing procedure can be applied in all migration situations, and not only in situations of large-scale or instrumental immigration.
During the normal processing of asylum requests, applicants have the opportunity to move freely within Finland or to another EU region. And according to the draft of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, applicants must remain at or near the border during the processing of the application.
The purpose of the procedure is to strengthen the investigation of unsubstantiated applications and return applicants who received a negative decision. In addition, it prevents the movement of asylum seekers from one member state to another.
Closure of Finland's borders with Russia
As a reminder, on November 30, 2023, Finland decided to close all border crossings on the border with Russia. This was with the influx of illegal migrants from the Russian Federation.
In mid-December, the Finnish government reopened two checkpoints. However, due to a new wave of migrants, the border had to be closed again.
It is worth noting that Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo rejected the possibility of opening the border with Russia. According to him, the problem with illegal migrants has not been solved.
Recently, the Finnish government decided to extend the deadline for closing the border with Russia for another two months. Thus, the border points will remain closed at least until April 14.
