EU to sends more staff to Finland amidst fears of border crisis

The European Border and Coast Guard Agency, has announced that it will dispatch additional officers to Finland starting next week in an effort to reduce the number of asylum seekers entering the country through Russia.

Helsinki has charged Moscow, an accusation the Kremlin has refuted, of smuggling about 700 migrants across the border in the last two weeks from countries like Yemen, Afghanistan, Kenya, Morocco, Pakistan, Somalia, and Syria.

A remote Arctic route will remain open starting Friday morning, as Finland announced on Wednesday that it would close all crossing points on its 1,340 km border with Russia except the northernmost one.

First, the measures will be in effect for a month.

The border agency, Frontex in a statement said it would deploy 50 border guard officers and other staff to Finland along with equipment such as patrol cars, to bolster control activities.

Finland’s Interior Minister, Mari Rantanen said her country would ramp up registering of those who arrive, establishing centres for the collection of photos, fingerprints, and other identity information.

Finland earlier this week said it had asked for 60 Frontex officers on top of 10 already stationed in the country.

Frontex said it would send the first group of staff on November 29, including border surveillance officers, support for registering migrants, document experts, and interpreters.

The fundamental rights “of all people” will be respected and upheld, Frontex said.

“The agency is acutely aware of the humanitarian aspect of this scenario, especially considering the harsh weather conditions and the unpreparedness of the people arriving at the Finnish border,” it added.