EU country could open border with Russia

Checkpoints on Finland’s border with Russia could be opened to passenger transport after the adoption of a new migration law, Defense Minister Antti Hakkanen told the media outlet Etela-Saimaa on Tuesday. The ‘border exception law’ could be approved later this month, the official said.

Finland, which joined NATO last year, closed its eastern land border in late November and banned shipping from several ports after more than 1,300 asylum seekers – primarily from Africa and the Middle East – crossed over from Russian territory during a four-month period. The flow of migrants had previously averaged just a few hundred per year, and the Finnish government blamed Moscow for the influx.