00:07joining me on 12 minutes with is Finland's interior minister Mari Rantanen she's a former
00:14police officer and nurse and in her current role as minister she's in charge of internal security
00:20immigration and border control including managing the eastern frontier with Russia a major border
00:27for the EU and NATO welcome minister pleasure to have you here with us thank you very much so let
00:33me start with the escalating conflict that's gripping the Middle East the UN is warning that
00:39if this continues to escalate we could see more displacement should EU ministers like yourself
00:45start preparing well obviously the situation is serious at the moment and we really don't know
00:54how far this is escalating it's quite early to estimate what kind of effects this can have to
01:06Europe in in short and also the long terms but but of course I think that Europe needs to look
01:15this
01:15situation very carefully and and also prepare for a different kind of skin areas is Europe today
01:24equipped or prepared to deal with more migration pressures well at the moment we don't see you know
01:34large movements and basically usually when this kind of things happens it's the nearest nearest border
01:42border that people are crossing if we in Europe are able to manage our asylum system for those who need
01:54protection instead of those who are seeking better life it's of course more sustainable and in terms of
02:05Finland and its internal security do you detect any imminent threats the threat of Iranian sleeper cells and so on
02:14well I think this is this is the question that is on the whole Europe because of course these kind
02:23of
02:24conflicts conflicts can can can have result that that the other people in Europe are trying to make violent
02:36movements as well so so this is something that our security and intelligence are looking very carefully at the moment
02:47okay I want to move on and look at uh the EU's migration policy now there's a big emphasis on
02:53facilitating the return of migrants who do not have the right to stay in Europe um yet on Tuesday after
03:02a
03:02meeting about the situation in the Middle East a European commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka
03:07Schweitzer she says said that the EU is now developing partnerships with Syria Lebanon and Jordan to ensure conditions for
03:16voluntary and safe returns for voluntary and safe returns to those countries was this bad timing from the
03:22commissioner saying this about Lebanon for example while there's an active war affecting the country
03:27we have failed with returns as a as a Europe if we look those who have a return order only
03:3620-25% is leaving from
03:39from Europe so it means that every every year we are having more and more people who are staying illegally
03:46so we need to do
03:47so we need to do something and and I'm very glad that Commission have made a very I would say
03:55quick movements on this for
03:57example this return regulation is now on on EP and we also hope that this will come out very fast
04:06so we can have new tools for
04:08for example this return hubs in in outside the EU of course because this is one of the things that
04:13the commission has approved now is that's something
04:16Finland is looking into setting up return hubs in other third countries well actually Finland is
04:24doing strict policies and make we have make a change of paradigm of of the migration policies and we are
04:33looking for very much new tools for the for the returns as well
04:37so so so so I think that all of these regulations safe countries safe countries of origin and this return
04:46regulation will be very good you said you're looking into new tools does that mean you're in discussions with other
04:53countries outside Europe for return hubs
04:56we need to have this regulation of course first but yes we are very much interested that option too and
05:05what do you make of the
05:07criticism criticism of this plan some people would say well people who come to Finland and other European countries in
05:14search of a better life
05:15are then sent to a country they might have no link to no family connections to to a camp essentially
05:23isn't that inhumane?
05:25I don't think it's inhumane because because there is an option there is always option to go back to your
05:34country of origin where did you came from and the other thing is that
05:39asylum system wasn't created for for seeking better life it was it was for the protection and if we are
05:49filling this basket with the with the another another reasons then we are in in trouble it's not sustainable
05:59but yet in Finland at the moment that right to seek asylum is suspended has been I believe since 2023
06:05if I'm not mistaken please do correct me
06:07is that the new normal for Finland now that you know people cannot come to your country and seek asylum?
06:17but the the suspension of the right to asylum in relation to what is happening with on the border with
06:23Russia that is as you mentioned changing the paradigm
06:26what is happening now in our eastern border is that we have closed all the border crossing points and we
06:37have made this border security law under the certain circumstances which are very high
06:44if we activate it if we activate it then the border border guards have a right to prevent people to
06:52enter to to Finnish territory or if they enter we will check if they are vulnerable or in immediate life
07:02danger in that country where they enter to Finland if not then we will return them back
07:10and in terms of the other threats coming from that border reports of military build up on the other side
07:18of the Finnish Russian border how concerned are you about that today and the threats to Finnish security and stability?
07:24well I think that that it's it seems like Russian side is building on their side as long as they
07:37say stay on their side we are happy
07:40I want to come back to the EU's migration policy there seems to be a certain political current which Finland
07:46probably would count itself part of this group of governments who really want to tighten the rules
07:51but there's a smaller group of countries maybe taking a drastically different position such as the Spanish government recently regularising
07:58half a million migrants in Spain who are there irregularly
08:04what do you as the migration minister for Finland make of those policies?
08:10well I wouldn't ever success the acts like that and the other thing is that when we are having the
08:22same area the Schengen area the team Europe as people is talking about then I think there is high risk
08:33if some countries is doing basically really opposite
08:39the other countries because now for example those people are very easily to go to another countries so I think
08:53that I think that we need to all feel the responsibility of our common area and it comes to migration
09:07as well
09:07the pact on migration which should be implemented from June this year this was part of this team Europe as
09:15part of this solidarity mechanism that they call it where there's an option for other member states to take in
09:20migrants that reach some of the member states under most pressure
09:25and not many countries have not many countries have picked up on this opportunity including Finland and there are estimates
09:30that there might be as little as 10,000 relocations in Europe
09:35so my question is is this pact really working is there solidarity?
09:41well there is options how to show your solidarity and Finland have choose by helping with money but I don't
09:52think that European migration policies are resolved by solidarity
09:58I think we need to work on that way that we really decrease the numbers who is coming to Europe
10:07and how we do this we do this in third countries and we need to make more innovative solutions not
10:16to bring people in and then you know we are basically in the situation where nobody wants to relocate
10:24so this is this is not working in that way
10:28you talk about innovative solutions what are those in your view what is the EU not doing that it could
10:34be doing?
10:35well I think that the most important thing is cut the smugglers money making machine
10:42but there's been talk about this for years
10:44yeah I know
10:44but it's still a problem
10:45I know
10:45what needs to be done?
10:46I think that the most important thing is think how we prevent people to enter to the Europe by smugglers
10:58boat
10:59you do this by having presence on the other side of the sea and you do this for example looking
11:07for the possibilities of safe ports
11:14that if somebody is rescued they are bringing back to third country not to Europe
11:20so I think that we need to decrease the numbers
11:24finally just to close off just for a clarification
11:26you mentioned the presence on the other side of the sea you said
11:29does that mean more presence for Frontex more of a mandate for Frontex what would that exactly look like?
11:35well actually at this moment Frontex mandate is rewrite so there could be I think possibilities for that for example
11:49okay
11:50and Minister thank you so much for joining us on 12 minutes with
11:53thank you
11:54Thank you
11:58thanks
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