Govt moves to strengthen Border Guard’s powers

The government has prepared a proposal to extend the Finnish Border Guard’s powers in normal conditions, especially at the internal borders of the Schengen area and in sea areas.

The Ministry of the Interior has sent out the proposal for comments for bringing necessary amendments to the Border Guard Act and certain related acts, said the ministry in a press release on Tuesday.

The government proposal will be submitted to Parliament in spring 2026 and the proposed acts are scheduled to enter into force on August 1, 2026, at the latest.

“Rapid and long-lasting changes have taken place in Finland’s security environment. It is essential to develop the powers of the Border Guard so that we can respond to the challenges of the changed security environment. We must ensure that border guards can operate efficiently and effectively at all borders in all situations,” said Minister of the Interior Mari Rantanen in the press release.

In future, the Finnish Border Guard could carry out checks at internal borders that are limited in time and area to maintain border security even if internal border controls have not been temporarily reinstated.

The aim is to improve the situational awareness of the Border Guard at internal borders and to reduce the need for the temporary reintroduction of internal border controls.

The government proposed a new duty for the Finnish Border Guard to supervise critical undersea infrastructure and the related powers in Finland's territorial waters and exclusive economic zone.

In accordance with the Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Border Guard would also have the right in the exclusive economic zone to board and inspect any vessel suspected of not flying a flag and any Finnish vessel flying a foreign flag or refusing to show its flag.

The legislative proposal also included amendments and clarifications to the provisions concerning, for example, technical surveillance and surveillance of the electromagnetic spectrum carried out by the Border Guard, as well as interception of the path of unmanned vehicles.

The intention is also to clarify the legislation on the integration of border guard forces into the Finnish Defence Forces.