Finland's Parliamentary Defence Committee has unanimously approved an amendment to the Conscription Act.
The amendment would enable reservists of the Finnish Border Guard to be called up more quickly in an effort to combat hybrid threats like instrumentalised migration. The amendment would allow the reservists to assist the Border Guard.
Under current law, reservists can only be assigned through an expedited process to refresher training related to military preparedness.
"Our security environment is unpredictable, and we must prepare for the Russian hybrid threat in every possible way. The Border Guard's [full-time] personnel may not be sufficient to deal with sudden situations, and we cannot wait three months for a call for a refresher exercise. By smoothly raising and lowering the readiness of the border units, national security and border security can be guaranteed," committee chair Jukka Kopra (NCP) stated in a press release.
Following the amendment, serious threats to border security will also be grounds for a rapid border intervention exercise.
However, conscripts in military training who are called to rapid intervention exercises would not be used in dangerous tasks, but could serve in support capacities.
Last month, Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen said the government hopes to bring the law into effect as soon as possible.
The changes to the Conscription Act are a joint legislative project between the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of the Interior.
Finland's eastern border has been closed since late last year, as authorities suspected Russia of facilitating third-country asylum seekers to the Finnish border as part of a hybrid influencing strategy.