Finland's National Coalition Parliamentary Group Proposes Asylum Centres Outside the EU
HELSINKI — Finland's National Coalition Party (NCP) parliamentary group published new immigration policy guidelines on Friday, October 16, proposing stricter asylum rules, tougher family reunification requirements and tighter access to social security as part of a shift toward a more selective immigration policy. Among the main measures are moving asylum processing outside the European Union to reception and return centres, linking immigrants' eligibility for unemployment benefits to their employment history in Finland, and making it harder to qualify for certain pension benefits. The group also wants to restrict repeated asylum applications considered unfounded and improve the efficiency of returns.
The proposals were prepared under the leadership of NCP MP Atte Kaleva, who has headed the work since January. "This means that Finland must be able to decide under all circumstances who is allowed to enter the country and under what conditions, as well as who is allowed to remain here," Kaleva said.
"Asylum has been misused as a channel for mass migration, which it was never intended to be. We are returning to protecting individual people who are in need of protection. This also removes the market for people smuggling," he said. The guidelines are the parliamentary group's policy proposals and would require legislation to take effect. (GSM, based on reporting by Finnish broadcaster Yle)
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 赫尔辛基芬兰议会大厦。Parliament House, Helsinki. Photo by ArildV, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
