Prime Minister Juha Sipilä has renewed his criticism of the European Union for its slow and pass-the-buck approach to the refugee crisis. During his monthly question hour on Sunday, Sipilä said the EU hasn't delivered on its promise made in the summer to monitor the EU's outer borders and check people entering the region.
He holds the view that asylum seekers should be required to submit their applications in the first country in which they arrive, in line with the Dublin Regulation recognized in European law. Yet, people are flowing unchecked from the south of Europe northwards, just as they are moving unimpeded between Germany and Denmark and also Denmark and Sweden.
“The entire chain is full of leaks,” he said.
He says Finland has been in constant contact with Sweden at many levels in connection with the refugee situation, and says that Sweden is not in any way condoning the free passage of asylum seekers into Finland, contrary to several rumours to this effect.
Hungary and Germany share the biggest burden
He is aware that the problem is much more acute in countries like Hungary and Germany, where 10,000 refugees are entering the borders daily.
The atmosphere within and among many EU countries has become inflamed, he says, and for this reason, Sipilä is anticipating a charged atmosphere at Wednesday’s emergency EU summit in Brussels, which he plans to attend.
Sipilä said the number of refugees fleeing violence and flowing into Europe is growing all the time, and he predicts four to five million more will join in.
He says the primary concern at present is to resolve the acute refugee crisis in Europe. Addressing the war-torn countries that are the source of the problem is now a secondary concern.
Raising Finland’s refugee quota
“If we could trust that the system works and the outer EU borders will function as they should, then I would be open to the idea of raising Finland’s refugee quota significantly. This is one way we could manage the current situation, which will hopefully be transitory,” Sipilä said.
The Prime Minister said that Finland cannot end up in a situation in which the country is harbouring people who are not registered and therefore in the country illegally. For this reason, Finland has decided to tighten its border controls. Dependent on the situation, the Prime Minister also says that Border Control will also receive added resources.
However he is quick to add that people in Finland should remain peaceful. He says the Finnish authorities have been allotted additional resources and now have the situation well in hand. He understands that many Finns are concerned about talk of 30,000 refugees entering the country this year, as the situation is already increasingly reflected on the streets.
“This is a long-term discussion that will have to take place not only in Finland, but also in other areas. We have to be able to speak openly about the problems without labelling people on any side of the issue,” he said.
Fast-track repatriation for Iraqis?
Sipilä said Finland is this week looking into adopting a fast-track repatriation practice like the kind Sweden has, by which people originally hailing from the areas near Baghdad in particular are returned quickly to their homeland. Since 2006, Sweden has claimed that Iraq is a safe country, and a repatriation agreement has been signed with Iraq to quickly deport the majority of asylum seekers.
When asked about his recent offer that his little-used home in Kempele, northern Finland could be used to temporarily house several refugee families, Sipilä responded that he does not regret his family’s decision at all.
He maintains that the people entering Finland represent a wide cross section of humanity, saying empathy must be extended to those displaced people who demonstrate a real need for asylum.
