HELSINKI (Chatnewstv.com) — Finland is requesting more than €16 million in funding from the European Commission to significantly strengthen surveillance along its long eastern border with Russia and in the Gulf of Finland.
The Finnish Ministry of the Interior announced the application for additional funding under the EU Instrument for Financial Support for Border Management and Visa Policy (BMVI) following a government decision on Thursday.
The move comes as the “operating environment at the eastern border has changed dramatically and permanently,” making situational forecasting more difficult, according to a press release from the Ministry of the Interior. Finland shares the longest land border with Russia of any EU country, stretching 1,340 kilometers.
A primary driver for the increased investment is the continuous interference with satellite positioning systems, known as GNSS disruptions, which has “weakened the usability of existing capabilities” for the Finnish Border Guard.
The over €16 million sought would be allocated specifically to purchase unmanned surveillance systems resilient to GNSS disruptions. This includes unmanned aircraft, or drones, and unmanned surface vessels.
“These unmanned aircraft… and unmanned surface vessels, would significantly improve the Finnish Border Guard’s ability to control borders and maintain a situational picture for both the eastern border and the Gulf of Finland,” the ministry stated.
The funding is intended to strengthen the operational capacity of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, Frontex, by supporting the border surveillance capabilities of member states. Finland has committed to actively sharing the experiences gained from the project with other EU member states and Frontex.
The overarching goal of the BMVI instrument is to ensure strong and effective European integrated border management at the Union’s external borders, which, in turn, helps maintain a high level of internal security and safeguards the free movement of persons within the bloc.
