Finnish border guards sent to Latvia to curb Belarus migrant pressure

By admin On Sep 6, 2025

A member of the State Border Guard (SBG) patrols along the fence at the Latvia/Belarus border near Krivanda, Eastern Latvia. Photo: Gints Ivuskans / AFP / Lehtikuva

Finland has deployed a team of border patrol officers to Latvia to assist in managing increased pressure from irregular migration at the Latvian-Belarusian border.

The move follows a formal request from Latvian authorities and is part of a wider regional cooperation agreement involving EU member states and the Schengen border regime.

The Finnish Border Guard announced on Friday that its support division, composed of experienced border control patrols, will remain in Latvia until 22 September.

The unit will carry out the same duties as in Finland, focusing on surveillance and frontline operations.

“The pressure resulting from illegal migration has increased at the border between Latvia and Belarus during 2025,” the agency said in a statement.

Latvia has reported a rise in unauthorised border crossings and has intensified its border surveillance measures since March. Estonian and Lithuanian border forces have already sent their own teams to support Latvian operations.

The migrant flows are seen by several EU countries as politically motivated, with Belarus accused of facilitating movement toward EU borders. Finland itself faced similar pressure in 2023 and subsequently closed its eastern border with Russia, citing state-led activity in funnelling migrants from Asia and Africa.

The current deployment to Latvia falls within both bilateral agreements and wider European cooperation under the EU’s border agency Frontex. Finnish border guards are currently active in 20 European countries through Frontex operations.

According to Topi Räsänen, a border security specialist at the Finnish Border Guard Headquarters, such missions benefit Finland’s own readiness.

“Providing and receiving border security support improves the Finnish Border Guard’s capabilities and readiness to react to promptly changing and unpredictable border situations,” Räsänen said.

“By supporting border security elsewhere at Schengen borders, we also directly support Finnish border security,” he added.

Finnish officers involved in the assignment are expected to apply the same surveillance protocols and operational practices used on Finland’s external borders. The Finnish Border Guard said that these operations not only support European partners but also strengthen the skills and awareness of its personnel.

Finnish border guards have received high recognition across Europe for their professional standards, and officials from other countries are also posted in Finland under Frontex arrangements to assist in domestic operations.

No details were given on the number of personnel deployed to Latvia, but the mission reflects a broader effort among northern European states to coordinate responses to border security challenges linked to Belarus and Russia.

Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi