Finland is set to close all border crossings except the northernmost point with Russia starting midnight on Friday, aiming to stem the surge of over 600 asylum seekers without valid EU travel documents arriving in the country this month. Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, accusing Moscow of directing migrants, announced the decision, denying Kremlin’s denial of involvement.
“The government has today decided to close more border stations,” Orpo stated during a press conference. Asylum seekers, hailing from nations like Yemen, Afghanistan, Kenya, Morocco, Pakistan, Somalia, and Syria, have prompted Finland to close multiple crossings. The European Union’s border agency, Frontex, plans to dispatch officers and equipment to Finland in response to Helsinki’s request.
EU migration commissioner Ylva Johansson revealed Finland sought 60 additional Frontex officers, augmenting the 10 already stationed along its 1,340-kilometre border with Russia. Estonia, on Wednesday, accused Russia of engaging in a “hybrid attack operation,” as migrants, primarily from Somalia and Syria, attempted to cross into Estonia from Russia.
The Finnish border guard reported unauthorized entries persisting at Russian crossing points, moving north to Vartius and Salla. Despite an agreement allowing only car crossings, Russia is alleged to let migrants pass through these points on foot. Finland intends to close three of the four remaining border crossings, leaving only the Raja-Jooseppi crossing in the Arctic open until December 23.
“Raja-Jooseppi is the northernmost (border crossing) and it requires a real effort to get there,” Orpo noted, adding that legislative amendments would be pursued to allow the closure of the entire border. President Sauli Niinisto highlighted the impossibility of repatriating those not meeting asylum criteria and urged an EU-wide solution to curb uncontrolled entry into the Schengen area.
The Kremlin registered a formal protest against Finland’s partial border closure, labeling it as reflective of an anti-Russian stance. In 2021, Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia accused Belarus, a close ally of Moscow, of orchestrating a migrant crisis on their borders, an allegation consistently denied by Belarus.
