HELSINKI –
Finland’s prime minister on Tuesday said she believes there is “broad support” in Parliament to build a fence on the Nordic country’s border with Russia as suggested by Finnish border officials.
Prime Minister Sanna Marin told reporters at the legislature ahead of a meeting with parliamentary groups on the border fence issue: “It’s a matter of ensuring proper monitoring of Finland’s (eastern) border. Future.
The Finnish Border Force had previously offered to cover parts of the 1,340 km (830 mi) border that Finland shares with Russia, the longest of any European Union member, to help prevent prevent possible large-scale and illegal migration – a concern that has grown in Helsinki amid Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Based on risk analysis by border officials, the fence will be up to 260 kilometers (162 miles) long in total and cover areas identified as potentially at risk for large-scale migration. from Russia.
Major sections of the fence will be erected in southeastern Finland, where most border traffic to and from Russia takes place, but some sections may also be built around border stations in the north. .
According to Finnish news agency STT, the construction of the fence will take up to four years and is expected to cost a total of hundreds of millions of euros (dollars). Finnish media reported that there was support for the project from parties in Marin’s centre-left coalition government and the opposition.
A pilot part of the fence running about three kilometers (two miles) will be decided soon and built quickly, but the decision of the entire fence project could be deferred to the next government when Finland hold general elections in April 2023 .
