The European Union must be able to protect its security in situations of instrumentalised migration

Finland, together with Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia and Poland, has published a letter to the European Commission calling for action to give Member States more effective tools to combat the instrumentalisation of migration.

In the view of the EU and Schengen States that signed the letter, Member States should have the possibility, if necessary, to temporarily derogate from existing EU legislation in cases of instrumentalised migration in order to protect their national security. The letter calls on the Commission to submit legislative proposals on the matter, which should be included in the next Commission’s programme.

“Responding to and countering hybrid attacks is not only in the interests of certain Member States; it is in the interests of the European Union as a whole. Our security environment is constantly changing and the EU must be able to protect its security in all situations,” says Minister of the Interior Mari Rantanen.

Innovative immigration solutions needed in the future

In mid-May, Finland and 14 other EU Member States signed another joint letter to the European Commission calling for innovative solutions to address migration.

The newly adopted Pact on Migration and Asylum will help the EU to better manage the internal aspects of migration, but new approaches are needed to address the external aspects more effectively. We should work towards comprehensive partnerships with third countries. When it comes to returns, we should also look into the possibility of setting up return hubs outside of the EU. Member States facing instrumentalised migration must be able to protect their national security and safeguard the EU’s common external borders.

In the letter to the Commission, the group of 15 Member States emphasises the need for a wide variety of tools and measures and the importance of taking a comprehensive approach at both the national and EU level.

Inquiries:
Ministry of the Interior media service, tel. +358 50 555 50 35 or media.sm@gov.fi (requests for interviews with Minister Rantanen)

Sweden was added to list of countries in the press release 18 July.