Finland’s parliament is debating a bill that would allow border agents to block asylum-seekers at the Finnish-Russian border.
The right-wing government on Tuesday proposed the emergency measure because Finland believes Russia is responsible for orchestrating a migrant crisis on its 1,335-kilometer border in retaliation for joining NATO, which supports Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression.
Moscow denies the accusation.
Finland closed its eastern border stations late last year after more than 1,300 migrants from third countries entered Finland from Russia without proper documentation. Since then, a few dozen migrants have arrived.
Since the December border closures, only a few dozen migrants have arrived from Russia, but Helsinki is concerned that numbers could surge again.
The legislative proposal aims to restrict “the reception of applications for international protection” in limited areas in the immediate vicinity of and along Finland’s border. The restriction would last for fixed periods of no more than one month.
Under the bill, only asylum-seekers who require special protection, like children or people with disabilities, would be permitted to seek protection in the restricted areas. Border guards would determine their eligibility on a case-by-case basis.
Some Finnish lawmakers expressed support for the measure.
“In principle, we think it is a good thing that the government has set out to draft this type of law,” said parliament member Tytti Tuppurainen, who is part of the largest opposition group, the Social Democrats.
The Centre Party, the second-largest opposition group, said the legislation was “absolutely necessary.”
But the Left Alliance, which makes up less than 6% of parliament, opposes the proposal.
The proposed legislation requires a five-sixths majority to pass. A plenary vote has not yet been scheduled.
Some information for this story came from Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
