Finland announced Wednesday that its eastern border with neighboring Russia will remain closed until further notice.
Finland shut its land borders with Russia in late 2023 amid a growing number of arrivals from countries including Syria and Somalia. It has accused Moscow of weaponizing migration against the Nordic nation in retaliation for joining the NATO military alliance, an assertion the Kremlin denies.
“The risk that instrumentalised migration will resume and expand as seen previously remains likely,” the government said in a statement.
It said it would regularly assess the situation and repeal or amend it if opening it no longer posed “a serious threat to national security or public order.”
Finland has also put in place an exceptional emergency law that allows it to reject asylum applications from migrants crossing its closed eastern border with Russia and to send them back.
“The government’s decision on the closure of the border has been in force under the same conditions for about a year. This is why it was reasonable to reassess the content of the decision and its preconditions,” the government said.
In March, the government also proposed an extension of a temporary one-year law that allows border guards to turn away asylum seekers under certain circumstances.
Dubbed a “pushback border law” in Finnish media, the law that entered into force last July can be applied for one month at a time in limited areas only if Finland’s sovereignty and national security are deemed to be threatened.
Experts have said the law contravenes Finland’s international human rights commitments and its constitution, which the government has acknowledged.
The government said both the decision to keep the border closed and the temporary border security act “have achieved their intended effect, and instrumentalised migration, which began in November 2023, has ceased for now.”
Be First to Comment