Finland has decided to keep its entire eastern border with Russia closed for an indefinite period.
The country shut the land border with Russia last year due to instrumentalised migration concerns and the measure has been continuously extended since then.
The last extension of the border closure with Russia was made in February, with the Finnish authorities saying that the measure would remain effective until April 14, 2024.
However, since there is no improvement in the situation, Finland has decided to keep its border with Russia closed even after April 14, for an indefinite period, SchengenVisaInfo reports.
The Government has decided that the border crossing points on the land border between Finland and Russia will remain closed as of April 15, 2024.
During the time that the eastern border with Russia is closed, international protection applications can only be submitted at the other border crossing points that are open to traffic.
Border Crossing Points for Maritime Traffic at Haapasaari Closed to Leisure Boating as of April 15
Finland has also decided to close border crossing points for maritime traffic at Haapasaari, more specifically the port of Nuijamaa and Santio, for leisure boating starting April 15, 2024.
By closing these two border crossings for leisure boating, the government said it wants to be fully prepared for an expansion of instrumentalised migration to maritime traffic now that warmer months are approaching.
This would be dangerous to people seeking to enter Finland and would burden maritime search and rescue.
We Have Not Seen an Improvement of the Situation, Minister of Interior Stresses
According to the Ministry of Interior of Finland, data show that the risk of instrumentalised migration could “expand”.
In order to ensure national security and public order, the Ministry stressed that it is only right that strict measures continue to be kept in place.
Commenting on the country’s decision, the Finnish Minister of Interior, Mari Rantanen, said that they have not seen any significant improvement in the situation, stressing that this is a long-term situation and that the measures should be kept in place for as long as needed.
Finnish authorities see this as a long-term situation. We have not seen anything this spring that would lead us to conclude that the situation has changed meaningfully.
She further highlighted that there are hundreds of people close to Finland’s border on the Russian side that could be instrumentalised against the country.
