
Finland approves controversial deportation law
19 July 2024
Finland's right-wing parliament approved a new controversial and potentially illegal deportation law last week. In essence, the aim of the emergency bill is to counteract Russia's "instrumentalised migration", which funnelled more than a thousand migrants across the 1,340-kilometre land border with Russia in 2023.
The bill would allow border guards to turn asylum seekers away or remove them from the country. Unless the guards believe them to be underage, disabled, or otherwise exceptionally vulnerable, border guards can use the new law to remove people from the country – they can physically carry them over the border back into Russia. The bill also takes away asylum-seekers' right to appeal against border guards' decisions.
Given that the bill is an emergency measure, it is valid for a year and will not be applied immediately. Rather, both the president and parliament have to agree that an emergency threshold is met beforehand.
![]() | Niina Leppilahti The bill has garnered widespread disapproval. The Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O'Flaherty, has noted that the law "raises a number of significant human rights concerns" and urged parliament not to adopt it. While the far-right interior minister celebrated the law as a demonstration of Finland's right to decide about its borders, legal experts doubt that it can be applied. That's because it contradicts the Finnish constitution, international law, and EU law, as pushback policies violate the principle of non-refoulement. This principle prohibits countries from deporting ('refoulement') any person to any country in which their lives are endangered because of their race, religion, nationality, or political opinion. The threat of a "migrant influx" can only be instrumentalised by leaders like Putin due to EU countries' general hostility towards migrants and that disregarding the rule of law also plays directly into autocrats' hands. |
Welcome to The European Correspondent
Europe lacks true European media: in Germany alone, there are more media devoted exclusively to football than news outlets specialising on Europe. The established players mainly focus on Brussels and European institutions. The European Correspondent aims to change that. We cover the whole of Europe and write for a community of citizens who want to look beyond their own national borders. Without European journalism, there is no European civil society.
〉Read our manifesto
〉The stories we would like to write for you
Become a donor!
The European Correspondent is fully funded by its readers. We can only produce the newsletter with your support - and work towards the bigger project: building true European media. Donate now!
With your help, we can create true European journalism. Thank you!
We are non-profit. Every donated € goes directly into The European Correspondent.