Despite Finland continuing the construction of the 200-kilometre fence at the eastern border, the country might decide to put additional temporary barriers in place at its border with Russia to prevent irregular migration to the country.
While the authorities have not confirmed it yet, it is possible that Finland might decide to construct temporary border barriers in its territory areas near the Russian border that are not very populated.
According to Yle News, the Finnish Border Guard will not disclose any locations where temporary barriers might be constructed.
In addition, the same explained that the authority, for security purposes, does not want to tell what kind of technology it uses to protect the borders.
Commenting on the ongoing project as well as the possibility of constructing additional barriers at the Finnish-Russian border, the deputy commander of the North Karelia Border Gaurd, Samuli Murtonen, said that the protection of the border is a package.
Murtonen stressed that the guarding of the country’s border involves patrolling, the construction of different physical barriers, and technical controls, among others.
Yle News explains that the Community of Interest Director at the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats, Jukka Savolainen, also thinks that temporary barriers are necessary in order to protect the country’s borders.
Savolainen said that he supports all measures that the country decides to take to prevent irregular entries of migrants into the country. The same emphasised that the country’s eastern border is currently more vulnerable than the Mediterranean, highlighting the importance of additional border measures.
Due to ongoing concerns related to irregular and instrumentalised migration, Finland just recently decided to keep its border with Russia shut until February 11.
During the time that Finland’s eastern border is closed, people, regardless of their country of origin, will not be able to cross the border from Finland to Russia and the other way around.
Moreover, as long as the eastern border remains closed, Finland will not accept applications for international protection at its border crossing points located in this area. Instead, all those who wish to apply for international protection in the country can only do so by submitting their application at one of the country’s open border points.
In December of last year, Finland decided to close its border with Russia temporarily. However, since the situation has not improved, the country said that it does not exclude the possibility of further extending the measure.
