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The Finnish Border Guard's plan for the fence on the eastern border has been completed

Publication date 27.9.2022 16.20 | Published in English on 29.9.2022 at 16.02
Press release

The Finnish Border Guard has assessed that the construction of a barrier on part of the eastern border is necessary due to the changes in the Finnish security environment.

The fence will not be built along the entire length of the border, but in riskier areas, such as border crossing points and their adjacent areas. The main part of the fence would be in the focus area of border control in Southeast Finland. In this situation, our eastern border does not differ from other parts of the eastern land border of the European Union, where barriers have already been built.

According to the now-completed plan, the fence would be built for a distance of approximately 130 to 260 kilometers along our 1,300-kilometer-long eastern border. However, the fence is not a solution on its own. It would be connected to an entity that would take into account human resources, tactics, and technology. The barrier fence itself would consist of a fence, technical control, and road. This entity would significantly support the management of disruptions at the border.  The physical barrier itself is necessary in a situation of large-scale entry into the country, in which case it acts as a blocking device and as an element that guides possible crowds of people. 

The decision to build a fence on our eastern border should be made at the political level, because the project is quite far-reaching and expensive; the estimated costs are in the hundreds of millions of euros. The Finnish Border Guard is ready to begin building the eastern border barrier fence during this year. It is estimated that the planned barrier fence will take 3 to 4 years to be completed, depending on the funding available and the smooth running of the procurement process. The detailed plan is an official document to be kept secret in accordance with paragraphs 5 and 9 of Section 24.1 of the Act on the Publicity of Official Documents.

More information is provided by [email protected]; media helpline +358 50 456 2862 (weekdays from 8:00 to 16:00)
 

An illustration image of a border control fence in the border zone.

This image is an ilustration.

Eastern border barrier fence