Reinforcing the border

Temporary barrier to be installed in several border sections to reinforce the border

There is currently no immediate risk of increasing migratory pressure at Estonia’s borders. During the additional reservist training Okas, the Police and Border Guard Board (PBGB) and the Defence Forces are practising the construction of border barriers in order to respond quickly to the threat of mass immigration when needed.

The PBGB has mapped up to ten sections where a barrier of up to 40 kilometres can be built with the help of reservists and 120 kilometres of razor wire provided by the Defence Forces. One of those mapped sections is in Narva, and the rest are at the land border in South-Eastern Estonia.

During the additional reservist training, a temporary barrier will be erected in places where illegal border crossings are more likely to take place, such as areas that have been used to organise illegal migration in the past or locations where the natural environment facilitates illegal border crossings.

The installation of the temporary barrier started on 20 November and will last until 25 November. During this period, there will be more vehicles of the Defence Forces on the roads near the border, as well as more police officers and border guards than usual.