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Finnish Parliament to vote on urgent expulsion law, Green Party’s Haavisto voices concerns

Friday 12th 2024 on 13:05 in  
Finland

The Finnish Parliament is set to vote on declaring the expulsion law as urgent and approving it on Friday. Before the vote, there will be a discussion on the law in a plenary session. Pekka Haavisto, a member of the Green Party, addressed the session, finally revealing his stance on the expulsion law. Initially, Haavisto had cautiously optimistic views on the proposed law. However, he pointed out fundamental problems with the government’s proposal, for instance, the need for more detailed exploration of alternatives.

Haavisto stated that while laws may sometimes be flawed in the name of national security, Finland is well-prepared to handle threats, including hybrid threats. He assured that there is no situation where the country would be unable to respond to border disturbances. The expulsion law includes the idea of reopening a closed eastern border, according to Haavisto. He finds it hard to imagine normal traffic flow in one area while an operation of instrumented immigration is underway in another. He believes that such action from Russia would be intolerable.

Haavisto also raised concerns about the law proposal sidelining the role of Parliament. He sees no justification for leaving the Parliament out as an observer. Haavisto is accustomed to thorough preparation and consensus-building in the Parliament, and as a result, he will vote against declaring the law as urgent. He had not previously commented on the expulsion law.

Haavisto also addressed the issue of “instrumented” entry into the country during a presidential candidate debate in January. He stated that he would be prepared to use a push back procedure at the eastern border in case people were forcefully intruding, for example, by using weapons. He clarified that asylum applications should be processed as quickly as possible, ensuring human rights.

In a major election debate on January 25, Haavisto indicated his readiness to use the push back operation at the eastern border when legally possible. The expulsion law proposal was submitted to Parliament in late May. It is intended to be enacted as an exception law, which requires it to be declared urgent by a five-sixths majority in Parliament and subsequently approved by a two-thirds majority of the votes cast. Abstentions are not counted.

Atte Harjanne, the chairman of the Green Party parliamentary group, revealed on Tuesday before the first parliamentary treatment of the law that, to his knowledge, none of the Greens support the government’s expulsion law proposal.