HELSINKI (AP) — Finland’s Parliament on Thursday passed amended legislation on border security that allows for the closure of crossing points with Russia amid fears that Moscow could choose to send large numbers of migrants to the frontier.
The move by lawmakers came just two days after NATO’s 30 members signed formal accession protocols for Finland and Sweden to join the alliance - an outcome that has angered Russia. The two Nordic nations’ membership bids were approved at a NATO summit at the end of June in Madrid.
The amendments approved by Finnish lawmakers will give the center-left government led by Prime Minister Sanna Marin wider powers to restrict border traffic in exceptional situations particularly on the 1,340-kilometer (830-mile) border with Russia, the longest of any European Union member.