Eastern border | “We are preparing for different scenarios” – This is now known about the situation on the eastern border

Eastern border the shutdown will most obviously continue.

Minister of the Interior Mari Rantanen (ps) said on Monday In Yle's A-studiothat there is no justification for opening the border.

The border crossing points of Imatra, Kuusamo, Niirala, Nuijamaa, Raja-Joosepi, Salla, Vaalimaa and Vartius have been closed since December 15. If the government does not decide to extend the shutdown, it will automatically end on February 11. According to HS, the government will make a decision on extending the shutdown on Thursday.

HS summarized what is currently known about the situation on the eastern border.

This is how the closure of the eastern border is justified

Government justifies the closure of border crossings by guaranteeing national security. According to Finland's view, Russia has allowed asylum seekers to the Finnish border with the intention of harassment or pressure.

The threat of a recurrence of the situation has not gone away, says the deputy head of the border guard Marko Saareks. Because of this, the border guard is preparing for a worsening of the situation.

According to the border guard's estimate, there are still hundreds, even thousands of third-country nationals trying to cross the border to Finland on the Russian side.

They don't stay in the immediate vicinity of the border, but in population centers such as in St. Petersburgin Vyborg, Murmur cat, In revenge and in Kantalahti.

“Petersburg is the most central of the cities, because it is relatively easy and quick to organize people to Southeast Finland from there. According to our estimate, the smugglers would start transporting them towards Finland when the border opens,” says Saareks.

This is how the eastern border was closed

How does the Border Guard control the eastern border?

On the eastern border more patrols are carried out during the closure than normal, and technical monitoring is carried out, says Saareks.

“This way we can better detect illegal cross-country crossings.”

The border area is also monitored by, for example, helicopters.

According to Saares, there is currently no need for more decisive security measures, as there are no signs of the situation escalating.

“But of course we prepare for different scenarios.”

The Finnish Border Guard maintains contact with the Russian Border Guard in accordance with the state agreements.

Saareks does not take a position on whether Russia has properly informed Finland of the crossings that took place through the land border this year.

“According to the agreements, information must be exchanged,” he commented in general.

What is known about those who crossed the eastern border?

Eastern border those who have arrived have mainly been men aged around 20–30. They are citizens of a third country, the majority are citizens of Syria, Somalia or Yemen.

They have received information about crossing the border from, among other things, social media. In Arabic-speaking groups, there has been information about, for example, car rides and bicycles for sale in Finland about trips as well as tips for the terrain border of crossing. According to Saares, the trips are still being marketed.

of HS in January interviewed asylum seekers said that they were probably brought to the border by Tajik smugglers.

At the end of last year, a large part of the asylum seekers who applied to Finland through the eastern border arrived on new, rugged bicycles. Picture: Kalle Koponen / HS

Asylum seekers have arrived on the Finnish side across the border both on bicycles and by walking across the land border.

Crossing the border via the land border is illegal. However, in practice, you can cross the border and, upon arrival in Finland, declare that you are applying for asylum. In this case, the border crosser will not be convicted of a crime.

The Border Guard registers asylum seekers at the land border and talks to them. After this, the new arrivals are directed to the Immigration Office's process.

Asylum can be applied for at the air and water border crossing points that are still open.

The Immigration Office according to, no positive asylum decisions have been made for citizens of third countries who arrived in Finland via the eastern border after the fall.

About 190 asylum seekers have disappeared from the reception centers. Most of them are Syrian citizens. They may have continued their journey from Finland to another EU region, and the asylum process has expired for them.

By the beginning of February, requests from EU countries had been made to Finland for the readmission of around 60 people.

How do we prepare for the future?

Government prepares for the fact that people will cross the land border despite the closure.

For this reason, the report has, for example, said so pushback procedure i.e. returning people from the border back to the country of entry without processing an asylum application.

A border procedure law is also being prepared. Its purpose is to speed up the asylum application process and to ensure that an applicant who is likely to receive a negative decision cannot move to another part of Finland while waiting.

In addition, the government promotes the so-called in the EU Rwanda model i.e. transferring the asylum process to countries outside the EU.

Barriers are being built along the eastern border in some places. A fence is currently being built In Salla. According to Saares, there is no need for a decision on new barriers at the moment and there is no reason to build more temporary barriers than at present.