Prime Minister Juha Sipilä participated in a Syria conference in London last week, and his takeaway was that the best solution to the migrant crisis in Europe is to impose refugee quotas on the EU level.
“On the EU level, the solution to the problem is the UN’s practice of enforcing refugee quotas that systematically transfer people to Europe,” Sipilä said on Saturday, speaking to his fellow Centre Party members at a party function in the southern city of Tampere.
Finland’s premiere says that practical solutions to the problem are needed. He even suggested that Finland could take in more refugees as part of a temporary coordinated quota system.
In terms of the big picture in Syria, Sipilä says a ceasefire must be negotiated as soon as possible, after which a peace process could be launched.
“Finland could have a big role in the peace process,” he said.
Finland needs a balanced discussion
Sipilä said Finns lack the capacity to discuss migrant issues at present, preferring that the topic be addressed with a “warm heart and a cool head”. He would like to see more balance between the two extremes in the current debate.
Foreign Minister Timo Soini responded to Sipilä’s proposal quickly on Saturday from Amsterdam, where he attended an informal meeting of the EU foreign ministers to discuss foreign and security policy. Migration was one of the meeting's more pressing topics.
“We have been discussing here that Turkey would take responsibility and the other European countries would make our own contributions to the cause. This way we can extend help near to the crisis, which would make it easier for the migrants to return to their homes once the situation has calmed down,” Soini said.
Soini disagrees
The Foreign Minister, Chair of Finland’s anti-immigrant Finns Party, dismissed the Prime Minister’s idea to raise the refugee quota.
“Our government policy observes a 1,050 refugee quota and this is what we are going to stick with for the time being, no more,” he said.
Finland’s budget currently makes allowances for a refugee quota of 750, but in previous years the number was increased to 1,050 in response to the war in Syria.
“Finland has taken on Europe’s fourth-largest number of asylum seekers per capita, even without quotas. It is clear that the mass migration must be brought to an end first and borders have to be secured. Then we can talk about refugee quotas.”
Half the Syrian population displaced
The human rights organisation Amnesty International estimates that 220,000 Syrians have been killed in the Syrian civil war. It began in 2011 as a chain of peaceful protests inspired by the Arab Spring revolutions, and was followed by a crackdown by the Syrian Army.
Amnesty says 12.8 million people are in immediate need of humanitarian assistance in Syria. Over half of the population has had to flee their homes, with over 6 million Syrian refugees escaping the violence to the neighbouring countries of Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, and Turkey.
The International Organisation for Migration says over one million refugees entered Europe in 2015, with the vast majority landing by sea in Greece. Half of the migrants are believed to be from Syria.
Finland has pledged 25 million euros to assist the Syrian refugees this year. Victims of catastrophe have been supported since 2011 with funds totalling over 100 million euros.