Minister of the Interior Ohisalo to Nordic migration ministers’ meeting

NordenBladet — On Friday 4 December, Minister of the Interior Maria Ohisalo will chair the ministerial meeting of the Nordic cooperation group on migration and asylum (NSHF). The meeting will be held via remote connections.At the meeting, the Nordic ministers responsible for migration will discuss the Nordic countries’ views on the reform of the EU’s migration and asylum policy. The aim is to exchange views, in particular, on the solidarity mechanism proposed by the Commission, which would, in situations of migratory pressure and crisis, shift the responsibility for asylum seekers onto other Member States in addition to those located at the external borders.“The Government considers it important to safeguard fundamental and human rights and the legal protection of individuals in all situations. It is essential that solidarity is binding on all Member States, because we all share the responsibility for asylum seekers entering the EU. This also serves Finland’s interests as an EU Member State with an external border. Finland’s positions on the reform are currently being discussed in Parliament,” Minister Ohisalo says.Another topic at the meeting will be the situation of those who remain in the country without a residence permit. Ministers will discuss measures taken by the Nordic countries to prevent the emergence of undocumented migration and a shadow society.The Ministry of the Interior is currently drawing up an action plan for preventing illegal entry and residence for 2021–2024. The action plan will comprehensively seek ways to prevent the emergence of a shadow society. Besides strategic guidelines, the action plan will aim to promote concrete measures to prevent people from staying in the country without a legal right of residence. The work is scheduled to be completed in December.The NSHF (Nordisk samrådsgrupp på hög nivå i flyktingfrågor) was established in 1986 based on a recommendation from the Nordic Council of Ministers. In addition to the annual ministerial meetings, the cooperation group also has a senior officials’ meeting once a year. The purpose of the meetings is to promote the exchange of information and cooperation between countries on migration issues.

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi