BORDER CRISIS There is no reason to hurry to change Finland’s border control legislation between Belarus and Poland, says Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto (Green).

“Of course, we can have a debate about what the concrete proposals would be,” he said stated To Helsingin Sanomat on Tuesday.

“I don’t see an immediate need to change the legislation. We naturally need to consider how we could create procedures that will help us to act quickly at borders and, if necessary, to turn arrivals quickly.

Tensions between Belarus and Poland have intensified in recent days. Poland has reported that some 3,000 to 4,000 migrants have settled in a temporary camp near its border under Belarusian control. The video spread on social media seems to show armed people disguised as people moving near the border.

The European Union on Tuesday accused Belarus “gangster-style” tactics to send refugees to the border to punish the 27-nation bloc.

The members of the Coalition Party have demanded that Finland adopt a law that will temporarily restrict the entry of asylum seekers in circumstances where the country is exposed to such hybrid warfare tactics.

“Although I do not see an immediate need, it may be good to use recent experiences to discuss at the Finnish and EU level how the security perspective should be developed. It is usually not worth thinking about changes in the law in the eyes of the crisis, ”Haavisto told Helsingin Sanomat.

He stressed that countries have an absolute right to prevent illegal entry.

“If you look at the border situation between Belarus and Poland and in the past between Greece and Turkey, there were clearly hybrid and hostile actions. You have to take action and use your discretion when it threatens your country’s security. Of course, countries have the right to prevent illegal border crossings.”

Minister of the Interior Maria Ohisalo (Greens) recalled on Tuesday that the Border Control Act already allows the government to close border crossings in the event of hostile hybrid advocacy campaigns. He also stressed that each country has the right and obligation to defend its own borders.

“And Finland also has an obligation to defend the EU’s common external border,” he said taken into account to journalists in the Parliament House.

He added that Finland must keep at least one border crossing point open so that it does not violate international agreements. The Coalition’s proposal could therefore not be in line with international commitments, as the country must ensure that asylum applications are received at at least one border crossing point.

He also recalled that not all asylum seekers are involved in a hybrid advocacy campaign mechanized by another country.

“In every situation, you have to look at what’s at stake – whether it’s the hybrid effect behind it or whether it’s about applying for asylum,” he said. “You have to react differently to hybrid effects than to people who are just seeking asylum.”

Aleksi Teivainen – HT