Estonia to Lift Border Control Measures With Latvia From Today
Such new changes taken at an extraordinary e-session have been proposed by the Minister of the Interior, Kristian Jaani, AtoZSerwisPlus.com reports.
The decision to reintroduce temporary border controls has been taken due to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in a bid to get a better overview of the people who plan to enter Estonia.
According to Estonia’s Minister of Interior, the number of refugees attempting to reach the country from Latvia has marked a notable decrease.
The Minister stressed that an average of 300 people a day reached Estonia from Russia in recent days, while less than 100 reached the country from Latvia. Moreover, almost half of the refugees use Estonia as a transit country.
In addition, Jaani stressed that border control fulfilled its purpose and Estonia received a useful overview of all Ukrainian citizens fleeing the war.
“The end of border controls will not prevent people leaving Ukraine for military action from being assisted at the border and referred to services. Police patrols will continue to carry out random checks in the vicinity of the border, and if these checks identify vehicles and people arriving from Ukraine, they will be able to advise them, if necessary,” Jani pointed out.
The Minister thanked everyone who contributed during the time that the border control measures were effective, stressing that citizens of Estonia agreed with temporary inconveniences for “a good cause.”
At present, there are 39 802 refugees from Ukraine in Estonia. According to authorities in the Baltic State, a total of 64,148 refugees crossed the border in order to reach Estonia, of whom 24,346 people used Estonia as a transit country in order to move to other countries.
On Friday, May 13, the Police and Border Guard Board stopped implementing the mass immigration emergency plan and took over the management of assistance to war refugees.
“Compared to the emergency, the biggest change is related to the reception points, instead of which the 24-hour information points of the Social Insurance Board have started operating at the Tallinn bus station, the previous reception points in Tartu and Pärnu and in Narva,” the statement notes.
