Radio | Clear news | Wednesday 22 November 2023
Eastern border. Asylum seekers. Trust of the government. Alcohol harms. Forecast.
Strengthening the eastern border
Finland strengthens the eastern border with barriers. The purpose is to prevent people from entering Finland without a permit from Russia.
Russia has brought people to the border, which Russia sends to the Finnish side. That’s why barriers are built at and near border crossings.
Fences are being built at least around the Salla, Kuusamo and Vartius border stations.
Finland accepts asylum seekers at the eastern border only at the Salla and Vartius border stations. Finland has closed the border crossings of Southeast Finland.
Border crossing points
The government is preparing new ways to limit traffic at border crossings.
On Tuesday, the deputy chancellor of justice denied the plan that the government was preparing. The plan has not been made public because the plan is in progress. The plan perhaps limited too much the possibility of applying for asylum in Finland.
The government is now preparing a new proposal to prevent people from entering Finland without a permit from the eastern border.
Finland has also requested help from Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency. Finland requests that Frontex send 60 officials to Finland to help because of the situation on the eastern border.
The government has gained the parliament’s trust in the intermediate question vote.
The interim question was made by the opposition parties SDP, the Greens and the Left Alliance. They say that the government’s cuts target too many young people and students.
The government received the confidence of the parliament with a vote of 96-76. The majority of the parliament trusts the government. That’s why the government can continue working.
Harms of alcohol
The harms of alcohol cause a lot of costs for Finnish society.
Aalto University has studied the costs of alcohol’s harm. The harms of alcohol cost society at least 1.4 billion euros last year. Costs come from alcohol-related deaths, treatment of alcohol-related diseases, crimes and disability.
In addition, employers incurred 500 million euros in financial losses last year due to the harm caused by alcohol. The employer incurs costs, for example, if the employee is unable to work.
Weather
It snows a lot at night. In the west, it will snow up to 20 cm in some places. The snow will stop at night in the west. The temperature in the south is between 0 and +2 degrees. In the north, mostly between -4 and -7 degrees. The wind is strong in places.