Finland has decided to close its border with Russia for another month as concerns over forced migration continue.
As previously confirmed by the Finnish Prime Minister, in accordance with the government’s order, border crossings with Russia will remain closed until February 11, 2024, and the measures may be extended again.
According to SchengenVisainfo.com, while the border crossing with Russia is closed, no one will be able to cross the border from Russia to Finland or vice versa.
Furthermore, as long as measures are in place on the border with Russia, Finland will not accept international protection applications on its eastern border. Instead, international protection applications can only be filed at border crossings where entry and exit is allowed.
Border crossings on the land border between Finland and Russia will remain closed until February 11, 2024. It will no longer be possible to submit applications for international protection at border checkpoints on the land border between Finland and Russia.
On December 14, 2023, the Finnish government decided to temporarily close its eastern border for one month and centralize international protection applications at other border points.
However, after the situation did not improve over the last month, the country decided to continue the measures for another month.
Regarding the issue, Finland’s Interior Minister Mari Rantanen said the country needs to keep its eastern borders closed.
According to her, there is no data suggesting that Russia will put an end to activities related to the instrumentalization of migration, and therefore its borders will not be open for movement.
Based on the information collected by the authorities, it is very likely that Russia’s hybrid influence operations will resume and expand, as we saw earlier. Therefore, we believe it is necessary to keep the eastern border closed.
Finnish authorities claim there is clear evidence that Russia and other actors are facilitating instrumental migration. It can be said that international crimes are involved in this phenomenon.
Despite the closure of the eastern border, many migrants are still waiting in neighboring regions for the border to open and enter Finland, data from Finnish authorities shows.
To avoid serious threats to national security and public safety, Finland will regularly evaluate its measures and decide whether to open or keep its eastern borders closed, depending on the situation.