Constitution Committee on Constitutional Affairs: Eastern border can be closed completely in exceptional cases – Left Alliance and Greens disagree

Parliamentary on Wednesday, the constitutional committee issued an opinion on the government’s proposal to amend the Border Guard Act.

In amending the Border Guard Act, the debate has aroused in particular whether the Finnish eastern border can be completely closed to asylum seekers in exceptional circumstances.

Earlier in Parliament Management Committee has taken a favorable view of the matter. Now the Committee on Constitutional Affairs has also reached this position.

Committee according to the report, ‘a short-term total closure of the border may be possible in very exceptional circumstances, provided that such a measure, limited in time to what is strictly necessary, ensures the proper functioning of the entry procedure’.

In practice, this is intended to prevent a foreign state from deliberately machining migration at its borders to do harm.

According to the Constitutional Committee, such an amendment to the Border Guard Act can be enacted in the order of enacting the ordinary law, ie by a simple majority in Parliament.

Committee was not unanimous in its position. As well as a representative of the Left Alliance Anna Kontula that of the greens Bella Forsgrén and Outi Alanko-Kahiluoto left their dissenting opinion on it.

“The position differs from the interpretations adopted in the explanatory memorandum to the proposed government and the bill and from the premise that the effective right to seek international protection must be safeguarded,” Kontula, Forsgrén and Alanko-Kahiluoto argue in their dissenting opinion.

According to the dissenting opinion, such an exceptional statement should be based on more serious consideration and stronger legal reasoning.

Question is not easy. International law has traditionally considered it mandatory to apply for international protection in a border area in all situations.

In addition, Finland is bound by EU legislation. It states that Member States have a clear obligation to process an application for international protection lodged at its border, territory or transit zone.

Until now, the EU has insisted that at least one border post should always be kept open. Nor should it be a position that virtually no one gets into.

Read more: EU bans Finland from closing its eastern border even in a crisis – Marin discusses with Commission President

With the new Border Guard Act, migration could be directed, for example, entirely to Helsinki-Vantaa Airport.

Agreements however, it was made at a time when countries did not exploit migration for political purposes in an attempt to disrupt another country.

At the end of last year, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia detained asylum seekers from Belarus, partly disregarding EU policies. Since then, however, the EU has not publicly criticized the countries’ decisions.

Border Guard Act is part of a package of laws aimed at preparing for the so – called hybrid impact at the border. The means of responding to threats are also to be provided for in the Emergency Preparedness Act.

If the emergency law is to be amended during this parliamentary term, it will require a five-sixth majority from Parliament.

Thus, only Basic Finns could, if they so wished, block changes to the Emergency Preparedness Act alone. The party is earlier demandedthat it should be possible to suspend asylum at the eastern border if necessary.