The European Parliament is set to hold a discussion on the situation at Finland’s eastern border during its plenary session on Tuesday evening. The debate, which will take place with representatives from the EU Commission and Council of Member States, will not include a vote on any resolutions.

The purpose of the discussion is to draw attention to the situation on Finland’s eastern border and raise awareness about potential dangers. The Finnish MEPs have been summarized for the parliament, and the speeches of various groups have been analyzed in preparation for the debate.

Eero Heinäluoman (SD) presented a resolution on this topic, while Pirkko Ruohonen-Lerner from Basic Finland presented a different version with a different title. In Heinäluoma’s opinion, it is important that other EU countries understand Finland’s position so that they can support it in case of an emergency. He believes that people may be pushed across the border or lured with false promises, and warns that this could get “really bad” if left unchecked.

Petri Sarvamaa from the coalition also considers this topic extremely important for the entire EU. He notes that Russia has been attempting to undermine Finland’s ability to operate in its own and Europe’s longest border area, which he sees as unacceptable.

Mauri Pekkarinen from the center argues that raising this issue in Europe is important from a perspective of border security, as keeping the border areas inhabited is an important part of overall security measures. He plans to focus on this aspect in his speech during the debate.

Elsi Katainen from her party says that she believes Finland has taken appropriate measures in response to Russia’s actions but acknowledges that there may be concerns about how best to involve NATO or Frontex in addressing these issues. She believes that there may be disagreements among MEPs regarding how best to approach these issues but hopes that they can reach a consensus during their discussions at Strasbourg.

The Greens also expressed concern about humanitarian aid but did not raise alarms over whether Finland was taking incorrect steps or not.

Overall, this discussion marks an important opportunity for MEPs to address concerns about Russia’s actions along Finland’s eastern border and seek ways to ensure European security as a whole.