Finland steps up security of its closed border with Russia

Finland is bolstering its border security in response to migration pressures from Russia by increasing the number of patrols, deploying more drones and electronic detectors, and erecting fences along certain border sections.

Source: Reuters, as reported by European Pravda

Details: The Finnish parliament is expected to approve strict new legislation on border security with Russia before the summer recess.

The planned legislation will allow Finnish border guards to deploy thousands of reservists to patrol the border, detect migrants' phone signals, send migrants to detention centres and – most controversially – send them back to Russia without accepting their asylum applications.

Finland cannot simply allow a new route for migrants to Europe to be opened, Finland's Interior Minister Mari Rantanen said.

"But overall this is not about a migrant route: this is about a situation in which the authorities of another country are helping or even pressing and pushing migrants to Finland's border," the minister stressed.

Recently, the Finnish Border Guard Service said it regularly observes "aerial objects" on the Russian border, which is currently closed indefinitely due to migration pressure from Moscow.

Background:

• In April, the Finnish government decided to keep the border with Russia closed to counter the hybrid migration crisis.
• It was also reported that the Finnish Border Guard had launched an investigation into about two dozen cases related to the organisation of illegal entry into Finland through the border with Russia.
• Since last autumn, Russia has been gathering asylum seekers on Finland's eastern border, which means that it is turning people seeking asylum or a better life into a tool to achieve its own goals.

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