Finland's Ministry of the Interior is preparing a set of amendments to current laws, which includes enabling asylum applications to be processed rapidly at the country's border.
The measures are aimed at preventing hybrid attacks similar to those that took place during the Belarus–EU border crisis last year.
In summer 2021, following the severe deterioration of relations between Belarus and the EU, tens of thousands of immigrants, primarily from Iraqi Kurdistan, attempted to make their way into Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.
The countries accused Belarus of transporting the migrants to European borders, describing the crisis as an instance of human trafficking.
Under the Finnish ministry's proposal, asylum seekers would be kept close to the border at all times, preventing those with unfounded asylum claims from travelling within Finland or other EU countries.
The new border procedure would entail investigating each application individually. According to Sanna Montin, senior specialist at the ministry, claims will be approved or rejected within a time frame of no more than four weeks compared to the current six months.
The ministry estimates that the new procedure could allow applications to be processed within a day or two.
Montin says the ministry is seeking new accommodations for asylum seekers that are situated close to Finland's borders, with reception centres in Joutseno and Vantaa currently under consideration.
The proposal will reportedly be submitted to the Parliament for deliberation in autumn so that the new border procedure can be introduced before the end of the year if required.
According to the ministry, international agreements, among other factors, prevent Finland from turning down asylum applications altogether.