HELSINKI (Chatnewstv.com) — Interior ministers from Nordic countries are meeting in Helsinki this week to coordinate policy on migration and asylum, confirming a shared objective to restrict immigration and promote more efficient returns of those in the EU illegally.
Finnish Minister of the Interior Mari Rantanen is chairing the ministerial meeting of the Nordic cooperation group on migration and asylum (NSHF) on Tuesday and Wednesday. The ministers are discussing innovative, tough-line solutions, including the controversial concept of “return hubs” located outside EU countries.
The proposal calls for transferring a person staying illegally in the EU to a return hub to wait for their eventual return to their country of origin.
“The Nordic countries take a positive view of return hubs,” stated the Finnish Ministry of the Interior in a press release.
Minister Rantanen emphasized that the cooperation is aimed at having a greater influence on EU policy, noting that Finland has recently begun restricting its own migration laws to align with those of its neighbors.
“Nordic cooperation on migration has a long history, and it supports cooperation at the EU level. We are like-minded in many respects, and together we can also influence the content of EU policy,” Rantanen said.
A major focus of the discussions is a new European Commission proposal submitted in March that seeks to improve the effectiveness of returning irregular migrants and prevent unauthorized movement within the Schengen area.
Rantanen expressed support for taking stronger measures beyond just returns.
“In addition to making returns more efficient, we need to identify all possible means to reduce illegal entry and put those means into practice,” she said.
The Finnish minister also called for EU-level efforts to promote measures that would allow for asylum seekers to complete the asylum process and receive international protection in “safe third countries” located outside the EU, EEA, and the Schengen area more often than is currently possible.
The NSHF cooperation group was established in 1986 to promote information exchange and cooperation on migration issues among the Nordic countries.
