While NATO processes Finland’s application for membership and Sweden In the Alliance, the Finnish authorities are preparing to face a possible migration crisis instigated by Russia, similar to the one that took place on the border between Poland and Belarus at the end of 2021.
Moscow has repeatedly warned Finland that its entry into NATO would have serious consequences, which is why the Finnish government, which officially delivered that request on Wednesday, fears that the Kremlin may resort to the massive use of refugees to collapse its reception system.
For this reason, the Finnish Executive is urgently preparing a series of legal reforms that will allow it to deal with a possible migration crisis.
Finnish decision
This Thursday, the Interior Ministry submitted a draft amendment to the Border Guard Law, which aims to combat “hybrid influence activities” by Moscow, including the possible sending of thousands of asylum seekers to the border. common, according to an official statement.
Among other modifications, the amendment includes the possibility of temporarily prohibiting the right to stay and circulate in areas close to the border in exceptional circumstances, for example in the event of a massive influx of immigrants.
Likewise, the reception of asylum applications might be centralized at some specific points on the border between Finland and Russia, which would mean the closure of the rest of the border crossings to refugees.
A legal provision is also included to allow the construction of fences and other types of barriers on the border to increase border security, although the Government has not yet made any decision in this regard.
Given the great extension of the border between Finland and Russia (1,340 kilometres), in practice only the areas close to the most used border crossings and other areas considered vulnerable would be reinforced.
“Through clear legislation and sufficient powers for the authorities to act preventively and effectively in the event of disturbances, we can prepare for a hybrid attack that exploits immigration”the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
What does Russia say?
Although at the moment there are no signs that Russia is planning a military response to Finland’s entry into NATO, the first commercial retaliation has already been seen.
Last Saturday the Russian energy company Inter RAO cut off the electricity supply to Finland, alleging “payment problems”, and the Russian giant Gazprom has announced that it will suspend the transfer of gas to the Finnish company Gasum this Saturday due to its refusal to pay in rubles.
(With information from EFE)
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