Estonian Interior Minister Igor Taro has said that Estonia’s eastern border will remain open for the time being, as there are no signs of an immediate threat, but the country is ready to close it if the situation changes, writes ERR News.
Opposition politicians and the media have repeatedly called on the government to close the country’s eastern border, which is currently open, although with restrictions that stipulate that the border can only be crossed during certain hours of the day.
The latest call to close the border was made by the newspaper Postimees, which wrote about the queues at the Narva border checkpoint. The editorial column said that the situation at the border in Narva is shameful, with uncontrolled anarchy and black market activities. The state border should be closed for moral reasons, and also to restore the importance of state power. However, the government does not currently consider this necessary, and the border can still be crossed from seven in the morning to seven in the evening.
Taro explained that the basis for opening or closing the border is a risk assessment, and if there were an immediate threat to Estonia, the border would also be closed immediately. He stressed that although there are currently no signs of a direct threat, Estonia’s goal is to limit Russia’s ability to pose a threat. He added that, following the principle of the strictest possible sanctions,
movement on the border has been restricted by 90% compared to the time before the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The minister also said that it cannot be said that the border is completely open. Persons crossing the border are subject to full checks, and the working hours of the border checkpoint are limited, which is also the reason for the inevitable formation of queues.
Freight transport and the number of border crossings have decreased tenfold, as random checks have been replaced by full control. The minister stressed that the main task is to protect the border, not to facilitate the movement of Russian citizens, and even if fewer people cross the border, they cannot be facilitated. Taro, who has personally observed the work at the Narva border checkpoint, said that people are trying to move prohibited products in both directions – both to bring them into Estonia and to take them out of the country to Russia. He noted that people often try to intentionally hide prohibited products on their bodies or in their pockets, and they can be anything, since the list of sanctioned goods is quite extensive. Therefore, full checks will continue, and no relaxations are expected.
Despite the strict checks, there are no plans to deploy additional personnel or simplify procedures. Taro said that the operating hours of the border checkpoint are limited in order to redirect human resources to border protection elsewhere.
The Estonian-Russian border is mainly crossed by Russian citizens who have a residence permit from Estonia or another European country, or who have dual citizenship. Russian citizens with tourist visas are not allowed to cross the border. Taro explained that a decision has been made to allow crossing the border if there are special reasons or it is necessary for humanitarian reasons, but this happens in very rare exceptional cases.
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