📋 Tender Overview
The Ministry of the Interior will set up a legislative project to combat the instrumentalisation of immigration and strengthen border security. The term of the project is 19.2.- 31.3.2024. The aim is for the Government proposal to be submitted to Parliament in March 2024.
The project will prepare legislative amendments that will effectively combat pressure on Finland in the form of instrumentalisation of immigration and strengthen border security. The amendments protect national security from threats to it.
Finland must be prepared for the fact that pressure on Russia will continue for a long time and that instrumentalised immigration will take on more extensive and serious forms than before.
The legislative project is about preparing for the most serious situations as a last resort, otherwise it will operate within the framework of other legislation in force. This will take into account the authorities' sufficient scope for action even in the most serious situations involving the instrumentalisation of entry.
The possibility of legislating on the matter in the order of enactment of the Constitution will be examined during the preparation, if necessary.
The chair of the working group is Senior Ministerial Adviser Sanna Palo from the Border Guard Department of the Ministry of the Interior.
Tensions in the security environment in Europe and Finland's neighbouring areas are reflected in the security of Finland's eastern border. Since autumn 2023, Finland has been the target of instrumentalised immigration. This is one of Russia's means of influencing Finland's national security and internal order.
For the time being, influencing Finland has been responded to with measures in accordance with section 16 of the Border Guard Act. On 8.2., the Government decided to continue to keep the border crossing points on the eastern border closed and to centralise applications for international protection away from the eastern border until 14.4.2024.
