Finland to get €50m EU funding to strengthen eastern border vigilance

Finland will receive EUR 50 million in additional funding from the European Commission to strengthen surveillance at the eastern border through the EU Instrument for Financial Support for Border Management and Visa Policy (BMVI), said a government press release on Wednesday.

Finland’s 1,340-kilometre-long border with Russia is also an external border of the EU.

More effective surveillance of the border will strengthen the security of the EU as a whole in the changing landscape of hybrid threats and instrumentalised migration.

“The additional funding granted to Finland is the result of successful preparation and consistent engagement with the European Commission,” said Prime Minister Petteri Orpo.

“Approximately EUR 83 million has been allocated to Finland through this instrument during the current EU funding period. This EUR 50 million in additional funding is quite significant. It will be used to expand the coverage of technical surveillance, produce more timely situational awareness and improve the mobility of patrols,” said Minister of the Interior Mari Rantanen.

At the end of October, the Commission also granted EUR 16 million in emergency funding to the Border Guard for the additional costs of combating instrumentalised migration at the eastern border.

That funding will help cover the additional costs already incurred from managing the situation.

The EUR 50 million now granted will be used to cover future costs as Finland continues to strengthen surveillance capacity at the border.