Until the end of summer, a fence may be installed on the southeastern border of Finland. Finnish media write regarding this with reference to the country’s border service on July 12.
According to the head of the international cooperation department of the service, Matti Pitkäniittyu, the length of the common border with Russia exceeds 1.3 thousand kilometers, and they do not plan to fence off the entire length with a wall. Pitkäniittu believes that it would be worthwhile to fence off from 100 to 250 kilometers.
The type of fence has not yet been decided. Before its construction, it is necessary to coordinate the use of private land, which is provided for by the law adopted the other day. Then the border service plans to conduct tests: if some of the fences are erected in the summer, then it will be possible to test them in autumn-winter conditions.
“It’s not just a fence. Technical control systems will be created and, possibly, a special passage along which it will be possible to quickly approach the fence,” says Pitkäniittu. At the same time, he noted that this is not an insurmountable barrier, but rather an obstacle that will give the border service more time to react and slow down a potential intruder.