On 16 July, the President of the Republic of Finland, Alexander Stubb, approved the bill for the Act on Temporary Measures to Combat Instrumentalised Migration. This act aims to enhance border security and ensure that Finland has adequate measures to counter instrumentalised migration, which is used to exert pressure on Finland. The act also aims to prepare for more severe cases of instrumentalised migration.
According to public authorities, the threat of instrumentalised migration on Finland’s eastern border, which began in the autumn of 2023, remains high. The border crossing points on the land border between Finland and Russia are closed until further notice.
The law outlines the circumstances under which a government plenary session can limit the acceptance of international protection applications in a specific area along Finland’s national border and its immediate surroundings. This decision would be made in consultation with the President of the Republic and can only be implemented under highly exceptional and urgent circumstances. It must be based on substantial evidence or a valid suspicion that a foreign state is trying to influence Finland in a way that seriously threatens its sovereignty and national security, with no other effective means to address the situation. The decision to invoke this law can be made for a maximum period of one month at a time.
If the act is applied, applications for international protection would not, apart from certain exceptions, be received in the area subject to the restriction, and instrumentalised migrants would be prevented from entering the country. A migrant who has already entered the country would be removed from the country without delay and instructed to travel to a place where applications for international protection are received.
The act will enter into force on 22 July 2024 and remain in force for one year.
Prepares Finland for worse situations
Instrumentalised migration is one way Russia can pressure and affect Finland and the security and social stability of Finland and the EU. Finland’s eastern border is the longest external border that the EU and NATO have with Russia. This new act prepares Finland for the possibility that Russia may continue to exert pressure for a long time and in more severe and larger-scale ways.
This act is an exceptive act. Exceptive acts may be used to enact limited exceptions to the Constitution for compelling reasons. The new act takes into account the situation of people in a particularly vulnerable position. During parliamentary proceedings, the act was supplemented with provisions that strengthened protection under the law.
Despite the challenges, Finland remains committed to finding EU-level solutions to combat instrumentalised migration.
