Finland suspends decisions on Iraqi and Somali asylum claims

Finland has in recent weeks experienced a growing influx of asylum seekers coming over the land border at Tornio, near the Arctic Circle, after a long journey through Sweden.

Finland’s guidelines for granting people asylum may “be made stricter” after the the review if it concludes that there has been an improvement in the security situation in parts of Iraq and Somalia, the statement added.

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The suspension concerns only a few tens of asylum seekers whose claim would have been decided now, said Jaana Vuorio, the head of the Nordic country’s immigration service. They urge Iraqis at other reception centers in Finland to do the same.

Up to 70 percent of an estimated 17,000 asylum seekers entering Finland so far this year have come from Iraq.

This was not due to anti-Iraqi sentiment.

The Finnish Immigration Service is launching a review into its guidelines on asylum seekers, which now grant asylum to Iraqis and Somalians based on the assumption that is it unsafe to return to their home country, in contrast to other countries in the European Union which do not automatically grant protection. “But Finland is very good”, Ghanem, who did not give his full name for fear of the authorities, told the AP.

Finland is looking to bring its practices in line with the rest of Europe, meaning a tougher approach for refugees who’ve arrived this year.

“Apparently, it is slightly harder to get asylum from Sweden”. Finland’s economy shouldn’t be a draw either. One of five young people are unemployed, and a few see welfare services as the cause.

NYSEPOST