Finland said on Wednesday, April 16th that its eastern border with Russia, which it closed in December 2023, will remain closed indefinitely.
The Nordic country shut its 1,340-kilometre border with Russia after the arrival of around 1,000 migrants without visas.
Helsinki claimed the surge of migrants was orchestrated by Russia, a charge the Kremlin has denied.
“Based on information available to the Finnish authorities, the risk that instrumentalised migration will resume and expand as seen previously remains likely,” the government said in a statement.
Applications for international protection have been directed to the country’s other border crossing points, it said.
In March, the government also proposed an extension of a temporary one-year law that allows border guards to turn away asylum seekers under certain circumstances.
While the pro-migration EU institutions have hardly uttered a complaint regarding Finland and a similar law in Poland, last year, they punished the conservative government of Hungary for rejecting illegal migrants at the border.
