EU EASTERN BORDERS: Major drop in irregular crossings so far in 2026 ― Finnish PM’s party proposes tighter asylum rules ― Finnish government planning to spend €100 million on anti-personnel mines ― Latvian government planning to further empower border …
- There has been a major decrease in the number of recorded irregular border crossings on the Eastern Borders migration route in the first nine months of 2026.
- The largest party in the Finnish government coalition has proposed to tighten the country’s asylum rules.
- The Finnish government is reportedly planning to spend €100 million on producing one million anti-personnel mines.
- The Latvian government is considering additional border security measures following a recent incident on the country’s border with Belarus.
- The Polish government has withdrawn a proposal to further criminalise anyone who helps people to stay in in the country irregularly.
- The EU and the International Organization for Migration have launched a new partnership to support Ukrainian authorities in strengthening border management and asylum procedures.
There has been a major decrease in the number of recorded irregular border crossings on the Eastern Borders migration route in the first nine months of 2026. According to data published by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) on 19 October, there were 4,498 recorded crossings on the route during the period January-September 2026. This represented a 51% decrease on the previous year. Overall, Frontex recorded just over 91,000 crossings on all migration routes into the EU during the same period, an almost one-third decrease compared to January-September 2025.
The largest party in the Finnish government coalition has proposed to tighten the country’s asylum rules. According to a press release issued by the National Coalition Party’s (NCP) parliamentary group on 16 October, NCP, which is led by Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, wants to “move the processing of asylum applications outside the EU, tie immigrants’ unemployment benefits to work done in Finland, and tighten family reunification”. According to NCP MP Atte Kaleva, who was responsible for updating the party’s immigration policy guidelines, this means that “Finland must be able to decide under all circumstances who is allowed to enter the country and under what conditions, as well as who is allowed to remain here”. “Asylum has been misused as a channel for mass migration, which it was never intended to be,” he claimed, adding: “We are returning to protecting individual people who are in need of protection. This also removes the market for people smuggling”.
The Finnish government is reportedly planning to spend €100 million on producing one million anti-personnel mines. According to their news magazine, the Finnish Defence Forces are preparing a procurement programme covering two types of mines with production expected to begin in 2028. The news comes less than a year after Finland withdrew from the Anti-Personnel Landmines Convention (commonly referred to as the ‘Ottawa Convention’). According to the Rapporteur news website, the planned order roughly matches the number of mines that Finland held before it joined the Convention in 2012. In an opinion piece published by the EUobserver online newspaper in February, Julia Głębocka from ECRE member organisation Amnesty International highlighted her organisation’s “serious concerns about how a possible reintroduction of anti-personnel mines compounds risks for refugees and migrants, creating a new, horrifying and dangerous reality for people seeking protection in Europe”.
The Latvian government is considering additional border security measures following a recent incident on the country’s border with Belarus. On 5 October, a group of 20 people led by what Minister of the Interior Jānis Dombrava described as “armed, masked escorts” used “makeshift stairs” to enter Latvia. According to Dombrava, the escorts were “openly threatening Latvian soldiers” and, a few hours later, border surveillance equipment in the area was damaged. On 8 October, the State Border Guard submitted a proposal to change the rules governing its personnel’s actions. According to its head, Guntis Pujāts, if the proposed changes – which are supported by Dombrava – are adopted, “[Latvian border guards] will not be obliged to warn before [using force], and we will be allowed all tools that we have to stop and so to neutralise persons who are damaging our border infrastructure”.
The Polish government has withdrawn a proposal to further criminalise people for helping other people to stay in the country irregularly. On 15 October, the Rzeczpospolita newspaper reported that the Ministry of the Interior had withdrawn a proposed amendment to the Penal Code that would have made enabling or facilitating a person’s “illegal” stay on Polish territory punishable by up to three years in prison even if it was not for financial or personal benefit. It also highlighted that under existing Polish law, anyone who enables or facilitates the “illegal” stay of a person in Poland in exchange for financial or personal benefit can be imprisoned for up to five years. The proposed measure was roundly criticised by NGOs and even by the Ministry of Family. Commenting on it, Jarosław Jagura from ECRE member organisation the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights said: “Under the proposed regulations, criminal liability will be borne not by smugglers, but by anyone who provides soup, water, medicine, warm clothing, shelter, warmth or even psychological support and accompanies someone while waiting for the Border Guard to arrive”. “This is contrary to the values upon which our constitution is based. It undermines the protection of the dignity of others, solidarity, and the imperative to protect human life,” he added.
The EU and the International Organization for Migration have launched a new partnership to support Ukrainian authorities in strengthening border management and asylum procedures. According to a press release issued by Frontex on 8 October, the EU-funded partnership, which will also include the EU Agency for Asylum, will inter alia “help Ukrainian border and asylum authorities work more closely with their EU counterparts and prepare for the border and asylum standards that apply in the EU”, and enable Frontex to “help Ukrainian authorities improve how border guards, customs, police, and other services plan and work together”. Announcing the €7.5 million project at a conference near the Poland-Ukraine border, Frontex Executive Director Hans Leijtens said: “This partnership is about people, procedures and systems that will enable Ukrainian and European border guards to work to common standards and share a common understanding of the situation at the border”, while Acting Head of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine Vadym Chenchyk said: “Ukraine seeks not only to bring its border management system closer to the European system. We want to be ready to become a reliable part of it. We want not only to benefit from European co-operation, but also to make our own contribution to Europe’s security and resilience”.
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