“Fear of small numbers”: A state of exception at the longest EU external border

• In Event: The New EU Pact on Migration and Asylum and Immigration Enforcement Changes in Europe (II)

Abstract

At the end of 2023, following the arrival of 1,282 asylum seekers mainly from Syria, Somalia, and Yemen, Finland closed all the border crossing sites with Russia under the pretext of the instrumentalization of migration threatening national security. In addition to new border barrier fences, registration centers and a fast-track asylum process including mobility restrictions were introduced for presumably unfounded asylum applicants. In 2024, the government proposed a new law that would enable suspending the asylum procedures and legalizing pushbacks, including also new measures to extend immigration detention. This presentation discusses new trends and legal changes resembling a state of exception at the longest external EU border in the wider context of EU law and the governance of mobile populations. Despite the small numbers, drastic measures taken at the external border are related to a fear of mass-scale arrival of difficult-to-deport people from unstable regions in Africa and the Middle East. While in line with EU border and migration policies, a shift towards pre-emptive asylum policies undermines humanitarian commitments and respect for international law.

Author

• Jukka Könönen, University of Helsinki