The Finnish Interior Ministry announced the launch of a project to assess the need to adjust the Border Guard’s powers in Managing Schengen Borders, according to SchengenVisaInfo.com.
The Ministry’s October 16 statement claims that the main goal is to improve border security and determine whether the Finnish Border Guard possesses the same powers as border authorities in other European Union member states.
The aim is to promote border security and to find out whether the powers of the Border Guard at internal borders are up-to-date compared to those of the border authorities of other EU Member States.
The Schengen area consists of 27 countries with no border controls or travel restrictions between them. However, border checks may be applied if necessary. Countries acceding to Schengen are responsible for monitoring the common external border.
In order to ensure the security of the Schengen area, the Ministry has announced a review of the need to re-establish internal border controls.
The aim of the project is to conduct an initial analysis of the authorities of other EU Member States at internal borders and to determine whether the Finnish legal framework should be expanded with regard to border checks.
According to the ministry, the review will be completed by the end of summer 2024, followed by a decision on the launch of the draft legislation.
Finland temporarily restored internal controls from 8 to 15 July this year during the visit of US President Joe Biden.
The Finnish Border Guard specified that internal border controls will not affect the movement of recreational vehicles. The institution also noted that within Schengen countries, borders can be freely crossed anywhere, including from Finland to Norway or Sweden, provided that passengers did not have any goods to declare.
