Estonia on Tuesday, the 12th of December, completed a 40-kilometre part of fence along its southern border with Russia to strengthen border security amid concerns over Russia’s unfriendly activities, reports Politico.
Estonia aims to build a high-tech modern border infrastructure by completing the fence by 2025, Interior Minister Lauri Läänemets told Politico, stressing
the need for modern security and drone surveillance systems along EU’s eastern border.
Finland closed border crossings after accusing Russia of sending migrants to the border but has now opened two. Lithuania and Poland are also feeling the pressure of migrants from Russia’s ally Belarus at the border.
Estonia is taking steps to prevent migrants from being used as a pressure tactic on its border with Russia. Although the pressure is not escalating at the moment, Interior Minister Läänemets stressed that the country is ready to react should such a situation arise.
According to the Estonian ERR, the Estonian border area between Luhamaa and Võmmorski, where the second phase of the fence was completed, is characterised by hilly and swampy terrain. According to Paavo Mikson, Chief of the Police and Border Guard Board at the Piusa border guard station, the new infrastructure, including 121 border checkpoints, has made border locations clearer, as even long-serving border guards had difficulties in identifying the exact border before the emergence of the fence.
Estonia’s Interior Minister said that Estonia’s border with Russia is almost 340 kilometres long and it is not easy to secure funding for the work. Despite applying for EU funding to develop border management capacity,
Estonia’s application was rejected because Estonia’s needs did not meet the criteria.
Although the European Commission has not provided an explanation for the rejection and Tallinn’s requests for comment have gone unanswered, according to a European official with knowledge of the situation, the funding in question is usually allocated to countries facing significant migration pressure.
According to the ERR, more than 60 kilometres of the Estonia-Russia control line have been built so far. The entire border construction, which started in 2020, is expected to be completed in 2025, covering 115 km of the Estonia-Russia border. The border is 338.6 kilometres long, comprising land areas, forest areas, the Narva River (76 km) and Lake Peipus (127 km).
Read also: Estonia also accuses Russia of increasing influx of asylum seekers
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