Disease control and border lockdown at the EU's internal borders during the COVID-19 pandemic: the case of Finland

Abstract

The article discusses the lockdown of the EU’s internal borders during the COVID-19 pandemic in Finland. Special attention is paid to bordering as a means for disease control and the governments' aim to "protect the population and secure functions of society" during the pandemic. Not only did the government restrict flights and 'nonessential' travel from non-Schengen countries such as Russia, China and Thailand but, with some exceptions, it also restricted everyday cross-border encounters and commuting between Finland and its Schengen neighbours of Sweden, Norway and Estonia. The restrictions hampered tourism and migrant-dependent industries; they also complicated the lives of migrants' families. While lockdown of the Estonian and Russian border does not cause any debates in Finnish society, the closure of the Finnish-Swedish border area that had been completely open since the 1950s led to a debate on citizens' constitutional rights and civil disobedience in the form of semilegal border crossings.