Finnish government rejects complete closure of checkpoints on border with Russia

Mikko Puumalainen, Finnish Deputy Chancellor of Justice, has blocked the proposal to tighten restrictions on the border with Russia, as in his opinion, it does not sufficiently guarantee the opportunity of applying for asylum.

Source: Ministry of Justice of Finland to Finnish broadcaster Yle, as reported by European Pravda

Details: According to Puumalainen, "there is no legal basis" for further preparation of decisions on the complete closure of checkpoints on the border with Russia, taking into account the documents prepared by the government so far. 

As stated in the answer quoted by Yle, the documents do not contain sufficient guarantees that the new steps will preserve the "real and effective" opportunity for asylum seekers to apply for international protection guaranteed by Finland’s Constitution and international law.

"It is currently unclear what exactly in the proposal of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Finland does not comply with the above laws and treaties," the broadcaster points out.

Yle assumes that the Finnish Interior Ministry will make further changes to its proposal to ensure its compliance with the requirements of the law.

Last Thursday, Finland decided to close the Vaalimaa, Nuijamaa, Imatra and Niirala border crossings due to a surge in illegal migration. They have been closed to traffic since Saturday.

Finnish border guards previously reported that in recent months, an exceptionally large number of people without entry documents had tried to enter Finland through checkpoints on the southeastern border.

Earlier the media reported that Finnish authorities were ready to close the remaining checkpoints still operating on the land border with Russia on the night of 21-22 November 2023, because of Russia's use of illegal migrants as weapons.

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