Minister Risikko: Finland encourages more EU countries to resettle quota refugees

Finland wants to encourage more countries to get involved in resettlement of quota refugees. Minister of the Interior Paula Risikko attends today the seminar Promoting resettlement as a way to address the refugee crisis in Helsinki. The seminar is organised by the European Commission Representation in Finland and the Ministry of the Interior. One of the speakers at the seminar is Frans Timmermans, the First Vice-President of the European Commission.

- Over the past few decades, Finland has received refugees to be resettled – quota refugees – as one of the few countries in the world, says Minister Risikko.

Resettlement is one legal pathway in migration. It is a way to receive those in need of international protection as we can identify them already in countries of origin. Resettlement benefits particularly those in a vulnerable position.

Finland has resettled quota refugees since the 1970s. We have worked hard to successfully integrate new arrivals in Finnish society.

- Rather than large numbers of people, we have focused on effective procedures and high-quality integration – and succeeded in it, Minister Risikko says.

In the past few years, Finland has received quota refugees from, for example, Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan, Myanmar, Iran and Congo, and recently more and more from Syria.

European Commission wants to promote resettlement in the EU

The European Commission wants to expand resettlement in the European Union by encouraging more and more Member States to get involved and third countries to engage in cooperation. The Commission has issued a proposal for a regulation on resettlement which aims to enhance legal and safe pathways to Europe for those in need of international protection and to reduce illegal immigration.

- We hope that the good practices of Finland and Sweden could be useful when discussing the proposal for a regulation in the EU, Minister Risikko says.

Inquiries

Tuuli Kainulainen, Senior Adviser, tel. +359 295 488 248, [email protected]
Jenna Kuitunen, Coordinator for International Affairs, tel. +358 295 488 279 (seminar), [email protected]