Finnish border guards granted authority to track mobile phones on Russian border

The Finnish Border Guard has been granted new powers, specifically to conduct radio monitoring on the border with Russia.

According to Finnish public service media company Yle, this means that after acquiring the necessary equipment, the border guard will be able, for example, to track the movement of mobile phones near the border on both the Finnish and Russian sides.

"This is an important new capability alongside other means," said Border Guard Commander Juho Vanhatalo.

The Border Guard Service believes that this capability will be helpful in situations involving directed migration. This way, they will be able to assess where and how many people are trying to cross the border. 

However, the border guards will not have the right to intercept messages or identify mobile phone users. 

With radio monitoring tools, the Finnish Border Guard will also be able to track drones.

In April, the Finnish government kept the border with Russia closed indefinitely to counter the hybrid migration crisis.

Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen previously stated that the checkpoints on the border with Russia would not be reopened anytime soon. 

Valtonen also suggested that this issue might be reconsidered in the autumn.