The Parliament of Finland voted for a law that allows border guards to return asylum seekers to Russia.
Yle writes about it.
Now Finnish border guards do not have to accept all applications from asylum seekers at the eastern border and can directly refuse people arriving from Russia at the border. However, exceptions are provided for children and people with disabilities. If this is a person who is persecuted in the Russian Federation, then he must have proof of this.
The law enters into force, but is not automatically applied. In addition, it will be temporary — it will be valid for a year. It was called "preventive law".
The Prime Minister of the country, Petteri Orpo, emphasized that the law does not contradict the Constitution, it was supported twice by the Committee on Constitutional Law, and the European Commission also got acquainted with it.
"Since the end of last year, we have seen that Russia uses migrants as a tool of hybrid influence against our security, our borders. We are determined to find a solution," added Orpo.
What is happening on the Russian-Finnish border
In recent years, Finland has been preparing for the fact that Russia will send a large number of asylum seekers to the border. The Russians have already done this on the Finnish border during the 2015 migration crisis.
In November 2023, border guards began to report that an unusually large number of people who did not have entry documents were trying to enter Finland through the checkpoints on the southeastern border. On November 15, the Prime Minister of Finland stated that Russia helps illegal migrants enter the country, including citizens of the Russian Federation, countries of the Middle East and Africa. Due to this surge in illegal migration, Finland decided to close border crossings on the border with Russia.
- In April 2024 , Finland indefinitely extended the closure of checkpoints on the border with Russia.