Helsinki passes ‘pushback law’ to suspend asylum for migrants from Russia

The Finnish parliament passed a controversial law on Friday (July 12) aimed at stopping asylum seekers at the Finnish-Russian border, accusing Moscow of using migrants to put pressure on the Finnish border.

On Friday, the “exceptional law” was passed, which allows Asylum procedures should be suspended if Russia deliberately sends migrants to the Finnish-Russian border.

“Since the end of last year, we have seen how Russia uses migrants as a hybrid instrument of influence. Against our security, against our borders. Today, Parliament passed the law with a clear majority,” said Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (KoK, EPP).

Finland’s 1,340 km long border with Russia has been closed for seven months. The government in Helsinki announced in mid-April that it would extend the closure indefinitely. due to the increasing number of arrivals from countries such as Yemen, Syria and Somalia.

Pushbacks and EU law

This law allows de facto the controversial practice of returning migrants to a third country, often without undergoing a legal asylum procedure, known as pushback.

Under European law, pushbacks are considered illegal because the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (CFR) prohibit the return of people to countries where they face persecution or inhuman or degrading treatment.

“Nobody should fear that Finland will not be a state that respects the rule of law in the future and after this vote,” said Orpo.

The Finnish Prime Minister added that his government would work for a common European solution and that the issue had already been discussed with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

“The Commission strongly supports maintaining border security. An uncontrolled entry route like the one in the Mediterranean is also undesirable in the north,” he added.

A Commission spokesperson told Euractiv that the new Finnish bill was being carefully examined and potential breaches of EU law were being assessed. He made clear that the EU would not tolerate attempts to “instrumentalise” migrants and would continue to support member states in this regard.

“Member States have a duty to protect their external borders. They are best placed to define how they do this in practice in full respect of fundamental rights.”

The new law passed by the Finnish Parliament is an “exceptional law”, which means it creates a ad hoc Exception to the Finnish Constitution in case of a national emergency.

This principle is by its nature temporary, is rarely applied and requires a difficult-to-achieve five-sixths majority in Parliament to support it. Children, people with disabilities and particularly vulnerable persons must not be denied entry.

“We hope that this law will never have to be applied, but that it will act as preventive legislation,” concluded Interior Minister Mari Rantanen (Finns Party, ECR).

A law that divides opinions

The debates surrounding the adoption of the law led to great tensions in Finnish politics. Members of parliament who disagreed with the law were accused of playing into the hands of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In the debate before the vote, Ben Zyskowicz, spokesman for Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s Coalition Party (KoK, EPP), spoke out against the heated atmosphere surrounding the debate and tried to reduce tensions.

“Opponents should not be stigmatized. They are not traitors, they are not on Putin’s side, they are not unpatriotic,” Zyskowicz said, adding that there were so many good arguments in favor of the law that there was no need to resort to such rhetoric.

After tough internal debates, the opposition Social Democratic Party voted in favor of the law with a majority, although six MPs called for an exception to avoid following the party line.

The Greens openly opposed the project, and former Green Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said the government’s proposal was flawed.

“Laws with unclear legal consequences should not be passed in this chamber,” he said.

Haavisto added that his country could have proposed an international initiative for more comprehensive joint measures to combat illegal immigration, and he proposed changes to international agreements that now contradict the law that was passed, Haavisto said.

Even within the current governing coalition, the issue continues to cause division.

Eva Biaudet of the ruling RKP (Swedish People’s Party of Finland, Renew) asked in the plenary session whether the law would increase security at the eastern border.

“I don’t think you can ask any legislator to vote against international agreements and EU law,” she said during the first reading of the bill, questioning whether the law would help victims of human trafficking.

(Edited by Rajnish Singh)