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Old December 14th, 2006 #1
dogman
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Join Date: Dec 2005
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Default Ministers reach agreement on filling refugee quota(finland)

Helsinki time Thursday 14.12.2006

Ministers reach agreement on filling refugee quota
Top Interior Ministry official recommends concentrating refugee matters at Interior Ministry

Kari Rajamäki
Tarja Filatov


Minister of the Interior Kari Rajamäki (SDP) and Minister of Labour Tarja Filatov (SDP) agreed on Wednesday that Finland’s quota of refugees should be filled completely.
Disagreements between the two ministries threatened to lead to a shortfall of between 100 and 300 individuals in Finland’s annual quota of 750 refugees. On Wednesday, the two ministries announced that Finland would choose as many refugees as possible in Turkey next week. A group of six officials of the Ministry of Labour, the Directorate of Immigration, and the Security Police (SUPO) will travel to Turkey to choose from among refugees who are now in temporary accommodation there. Jorma Vuorio, Director-General of the Directorate of Immigration, says that Iranian, Somali, and Sudanese refugees currently in Turkey will be among those taken to Finland. The remaining spots in the annual quota will be filled by emergency cases recommended by the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. People fleeing oppression in Myanmar are expected to be among that group.
At the Ministry of the Interior, Pentti Visanen, the head of the ministry’s section for aliens’ affairs, accuses the Ministry of Labour of starting preparations to fill the refugee quota too late.
Helsingin Sanomat acquired a copy of an unusual letter sent last week to all 200 Members of Parliament, in which Visanen says that refugee affairs should be made the responsibility of the Interior Ministry alone, because only it has the expertise to evaluate if a refugee needs international protection under the terms of Finnish legislation.
Currently, the Ministry of Labour evaluates the possibilities of settling a would-be refugee and the chances of integration into Finland - factors which Visanen sees as "secondary".

"Although expertise in international protection and security are in the field of the administration of interior affairs, preparations for the targeting of the refugee quota, and the administration of travel for choosing those to be included in the quota are currently dealt with by the Ministry of Labour", Visanen notes.
Jorma Vuorio of the Directorate of Immigration also would like to see refugee affairs concentrated on the Ministry of the Interior.
Minister of Labour Tarja Filatov told Helsingin Sanomat on Wednesday that the government can decide on such a move if the matter were to be taken into the policy programme of the next government.
She is not taking a stand on the possible need for administrative reform. "Some discussion should be held on where decisions on different matters are made", she nevertheless conceded.
Filatov nevertheless says that she has "quite good" relations with Interior Minister Rajamäki. Helsingin Sanomat was unable to reach Rajamäki on Wednesday.

The issue of immigration has been the subject of a turf battle between the two ministries for years.
There have also been differences on which groups are acceptable as quota refugees for Finland. The Ministry of the Interior has rejected Afghani, Palestinian, Chechen, and Sudanese refugees proposed by the Ministry of Labour.
In his letter, Visanen says that the requirements for refugee status were not met by Afghanis, because return migration to Afghanistan is extensive.
The Finns have not been able to travel to Israel to interview Sudanese refugees. The small group of Chechens were in two different countries, and arranging a trip to interview them was not considered practical. As for the Palestinians in Jordan, Visanen said that their status is "quite unclear".

http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Min.../1135223678375

finland government support Iranian, Somali, and Sudanese invader
 
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