Finland Times

The Government will closely monitor the situation of migration issue following the pressure of huge influx of refugees in the country.

According to an official press release, Prime Minister Juha Sipilä and Interior Minister Petteri Orpo echoed similar concerns on Friday at a press conference where they said that the authorities have increased preparedness in Northern Finland as the pressures have built up significantly in the Tornio region.

“The situation is extremely exceptional, and the government will monitor it very closely. To me it seems that the situation caused by the flow of refugees might be even worse than our economic situation. The authorities have carried out enhanced surveillance at the border for several weeks now, and they will further reinforce their actions,” said Sipilä.

An enhanced operation led by the police will be launched at the border between Finland and Sweden. During this operation, instead of reintroducing border checks, the authorities will employ means of immigration monitoring, which will have a similar effect.

The police will send more resources to Northern Finland and a 11-member asylum investigation team of the police will be sent to Tornio this week.

The Border Guard will also deploy patrols to the area, but the main responsibility for the operation rests with the police.

Asylum seekers entering the country will be transferred to a registration centre as from Tuesday. Until then, they will be sent to emergency accommodation, or to other facilities to be registered as asylum seekers. Preparations have been made to provide emergency accommodation in the Tornio region over the weekend, too.
“Yesterday 500 asylum seekers arrived in Finland, today we are expecting 800 to 1,000 more. We will take the actions necessary to maintain public order,” said Orpo at the press conference.

Discussions on the situation will also continue at European Union level. The Justice and Home Affairs Council will hold an extraordinary meeting on Tuesday, 22 September.

An informal meeting of EU Heads of State or Government will be arranged on Wednesday, 23 September.

The migration crisis and its effects on Finland were also discussed on Friday at the meeting of the President of the Republic and the Ministerial Committee on Foreign and Security Policy Affairs.

The Prime Minister also said he considers the economic situation a smaller problem compared to the refugee crisis, reported news agency STT.

“The situation is monitored hour by hour,” Sipilä said, adding that the situation has been brought under control.