Finland Airs Bill to Stop Russia’s Use of Migrants as Weapon
- Measure to allow blocking, deporting migrants pushed by Russia
- Foreign minister says move is of ‘significant’ interest for EU
A border guard, left, escorts a migrant at the Niirala border check point between Finland and Russia in Tohmajärvi, Finland, in December.
Photographer: Minna Raitavuo/AFP/Getty ImagesFinland’s government introduced a draft law that allows it to stop migrants pushed by Russia to its eastern border in what the Nordic country says could be a basis for a European-level solution.
The bill would allow the border guard to block the entry for such people or deport them “to a place where applications for international protection are accepted,” Prime Minister Petteri Orpo told reporters in Helsinki on Tuesday as the government decided to send the bill to parliament for approval. The move, once backed by lawmakers, would also allow Finland to open the border points on the European Union’s and NATO’s longest frontier with Russia.