A new study on what will happen when the European Union and Russia lift visa requirement predicts a doubling in border-crossers between Finland and Russia. For 2011 it is predicted that eight million people will cross the border, a number that will double to 15 million when visa-freedom is introduced, reports Helsingin Sanomat.
The report is compiled by the Border Guard, the Customs and the Police.
- I believe that a visa-free regime between Russia and the EU could be introduced in 2018, Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb, said in February as reported by BarentsObserver.
- Most Russians currently coming to Finland belong to the most prosperous third of the nations, says Commander Pasi Kostamovaara of Finland’s Southeast Border Guard district to Helsingin Sanomat. He believes the threshold for taking a trip across the border would become lower for others too if they don’t have to pay the €50 Euro cost of a visa.
The report underlines the need to upgrade the border crossing points with more automatic passport inspection systems in order to avoid jams and queues.
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Also Norwegian border authorities predict a sharp increase in border-crossers from Russia’s Kola Peninsula to Norway over the coming years. A report published in March says the number of border crossers at Norway’s Storskog border station could increase from today’s 140.000 to around 400.000 over the next few years.
The Norwegian report underlined the needs for urgent upgrade of Storskog border station, suggested to get started already this spring. The Norwegian Government did however decided not to grant any means to the border station in its revised state budget presented two weeks ago.
