President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and Prime Minister Petteri Orpo spoke to reporters at Lappeenranta Airport in Eastern Finland on 19 April 2024. The European Commission intends to scrutinise the Finnish law passed last week to tackle instrumentalised migration at the border between Finland and Russia. (Antti Aimo-Koivisto – Lehtikuva)
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THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION is not yet prepared to comment on whether the border security act passed last week in Finland aligns with EU law, reports Helsingin Sanomat.
Eric Mamer, the director of communications at the European Commission, on Monday stated to the newspaper that the commission intends to analyse the act while taking into account the instrumentalised migration that has been witnessed at the border between Finland and Russia.
“Of course national laws must align with EU law,” he commented. “We aren’t in a normal situation. Member states have an obligation to protect their borders while complying with certain conditions. That’s why we intend to analyse the law.”
Branded the refoulement act by its critics, the act enables the government, in consultation with the president, to temporary suspend the reception of asylum applications at the border of Finland. The asylum seekers turned away at the border in such circumstances will have no legal recourse to appeal against the decision.
YLE on Tuesday reported that the act is scheduled to take effect on Monday, 22 July.
Minister of the Interior Mari Rantanen (PS) on Friday stressed in a news conference that the threshold for invoking the act is high, adding that she does not presently foresee a situation where invoking it would be necessary.
Numerous legal scholars argued throughout the lawmaking process that the act is in violation of EU law and the international commitments of Finland. The right to seek asylum, principle of non-refoulement, and the right to an effective remedy and fair trial are all enshrined in union law, binding all member states.
The European Commission is responsible for supervising that member states comply with EU law. Member states that fail to do so may face a formal infringement procedure or be requested to amend legislation that does not align with union law.
The commission can also bring such cases to a court of law.
Hungary was recently issued a fine of 200 million euros for violating the immigration laws of the 27-country bloc by the EU Court of Justice.
The Finnish government embarked on a campaign to generate support for the controversial act during the lawmaking process. Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, visited Lappeenranta, Eastern Finland, in April to examine the situation at the eastern border, concluding that a Russian hybrid operation is underway at the border.
In June, she argued in a letter sent to the leaders of member states that the union must re-examine its legislation in order to be able to respond effectively to instrumentalised migration.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
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Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
