Frontex Personnel to Be Present at Finland's Eastern Border Until Summer - Border Guard
© Sputnik / Alexei Danichev
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MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Finnish Border Guard said on Wednesday it had reached an agreement with the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) to extend the latter’s personnel and material support for the eastern border of Finland until the summer.
"Following the request sent by the Finnish Border Guard to Frontex, the current personnel support, consisting of approximately 50 permanent staff members, will be maintained at about one-third of its strength, at least until the summer," the statement read.
The support also includes equipment used in surveillance of the border area, as well as patrol vehicles, according to the statement.
Last week, Finnish broadcaster Yle reported, citing the country’s border guard, that additional barriers could be erected in selected areas along the Finnish-Russian border to prevent illegal border crossings.
20 November 2023, 09:58 GMT
Finland started temporarily closing checkpoints on its border with Russia in early November 2023, citing an influx of undocumented migrants from the Middle East and North Africa seeking to cross into the European Union via Russian territory. The Russian Foreign Ministry lodged a protest to Finland over making the decision unilaterally and without consultation with Moscow. From November 30 to December 13, 2023, all land border crossings with Russia were closed. In December, two border crossings between Finland and Russia were briefly opened, but then Helsinki decided to close the border completely.
Helsinki announced in early January that Finland's border with Russia would remain closed until February 11, with Finnish Interior Minister Mari Rantanen saying that it was necessary to keep the border closed because it was "very likely that Russia's hybrid influence activities would resume."
