Justice Minister Emilie Enger Mehl (Sp) has been inspired by the 200 kilometers of high and solid fence that Finland is putting up on its side of the 1,340 kilometer long Finnish-Russian border. – The border fence is very interesting, not only because it can act as a deterrent, but also because it contains sensors and technology that allows you to detect if people are moving close to the border. Now it may be that such a fence will also become a reality in Norway. – It is a measure that may become relevant, on all or parts of the border, she says. The Minister of Justice got to see some of Finland’s border fence during a visit this summer. She believes that a fence can also be a good idea in Norway. Enger Mehl tells news that the government is ready to close the border at short notice. – We are working to look at several measures. It could be about staffing, fencing, monitoring of the border and about measures around the border station at Storskog to be able to handle the traffic there, she says. Chief of Police in Finnmark Ellen Katrine Hætta supports Justice Minister Emilie Enger Mehl in her desire for a border fence at the Norwegian-Russian border. Photo: Kristin Humstad / news Police chief positive The Minister of Justice is supported by Finnmark’s police chief, Ellen Katrine Hætta, who also wants to strengthen control at the border. – I think that in certain places on the boundary line, we could well have a fence, without me being able to go into which areas, says Hætta. Of the 198 kilometer long Norwegian-Russian border, there is currently a physical barrier along 200 meters of the border. As a result of the asylum crisis at Storskog in 2015, when 5,000 people came over from Russia, a 200 meter long and 3.5 meter high fence was erected at the Norwegian border station the following year. This is what it looked like during the construction of the 200 meters of border fence at Storskog border station in 2016. If the Minister of Justice gets what she wants, there will again be construction along the border. Photo: Ksenia Novikova / news In the past year, Finland has received a large number of asylum seekers from the Russian side. In November last year, over 600 people without valid travel documents came from Russia to Finland, while the scale showed minus 20. Finnish authorities believe the asylum seekers were sluiced there by the neighboring country, as a response to the country becoming a member of NATO. This led to Finland closing the entire border with its neighbor to the east. In July, the country passed a law that allows border guards to send asylum seekers back to Russia. 200 kilometers of fence will now be added. – Deterrent The Chief of Police in Finnmark believes that such a fence in Norway will be able to prevent illegal border crossing. – I think it would be a deterrent for people who want to move illegally to Norway or illegally from Norway to Russia. It is rare for people to cross the Norwegian-Russian border illegally, although in August the police suspected an illegal border crossing into Russia. Last year, the police reported that there had been three illegal crossings from Norway to Russia since the start of the war in Ukraine. The most famous illegal border crossing in recent times occurred in January 2023, when the supposed Wagner defector Andrej Medvedev came over to the Norwegian side in a white dressing gown. Difference on the Finnish and Norwegian Russian border – With a fence, one could say that the border will be safer on the Norwegian side. But whether it is relevant or likely that migrants will flow towards the border is a completely different question, says Arild Moe, senior researcher at the Fridtjof Nansen Institute. Moe points to significant differences between the Finnish and Norwegian Russian border. – The Norwegian-Russian border is the end of an area that is heavily militarized on the Russian side. There has been a lot of military activity, and it must be considered a very sensitive area in Russia, he says. Moe has researched the refugee crisis over Storskog and concluded that the Russian authorities had not controlled the flow of refugees to Norway. Arild Moe, senior researcher at the Fridtjof Nansens Institute, does not believe that Russia controlled the asylum crisis over Storskog in 2015. Photo: Fridtjof Nansens Institute / FNI Published 28/09/2024, at 21.08
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The government is considering a border fence with Russia – news Troms and Finnmark
