Minister: The problems at the border post of Narva-1 are known, but they are unlikely to solve them. In extreme cases, the border can be closed
On the past on Friday, May 23, a meeting of Narva journalists and Minister of Internal Affairs Igor Taro discussed a wide range of issues. Including the problem of queues at the border crossing Narva 1.
The holiday season is approaching, and as the last summer showed – the queues at the border crossing in Narva at this time increase significantly. In the last summer months, the waiting time could reach 16-20 hours. What does it mean – a person who has risen at 4 in the morning may not have time to cross the border until the point is closed at 23.00.
Forecasts for the summer of 2025 are completely disappointing-Finland still holds its boundaries on the castle, and customs control in Estonia is significantly intensified, which increases the already insanely long-long waiting time.
“I talked with my Finnish colleague and, I think, we can say that the discoveries of their border should not be expected. The state (Estonia-Ed.) Can’t do anything here-no one plans to invest in the modernization of infrastructure. In some ways, people stand in line,” says Minister of Internal Affairs Igor Taro.
Close when necessary
Finland closed its border crossings due to migration pressure. Streams of illegal immigrants created a tense atmosphere on the eastern borders of the country, and the authorities decided to simply stop any crossing of the border.
“In the case of such actions, we will do the same. As soon as 50 Iraqis appear at the Narv border crossing, we immediately close the border,” Tarot said.
Possible solutions to the problem of the Narva queue have been discussed for a long time: an increase in the time of work of the border post, the resumption of biometric verification of passports at the exit in the direction of Russia, customs inspection to crossing the border, creating acceptable conditions for waiting, organizing a system of electronic queue.
“The state cannot spend funds on this. The border crossing service is already provided for free. Creating a parallel structure, as was done at the southern border crossings (paid electronic queue), turned out to be a loss -making enterprise. It is necessary to find a balance between the load on the state and convenience for people,” the minister argues.
The minister is also aware of the cost of trading in the queue (the cost of a place can be 50-100 euros) and admits that the police are looking at it through his fingers. The police sometimes intervene in the disputes arising in line, but does it unsystematic.
Only this week, the ambulance went to Petrovskaya Square several times to assist people standing on the heat. Journalists expressed the opinion that it is likely that sooner or later it will end with a tragedy.
Recall that the initiatives to install an anx next to the Narva-1 border post for shelter from precipitation and the scorching sun were unsuccessful in the past. Apparently, the difficulties of the queue at present and in the coming summer are still the problems of the people standing in it.
The Post Minister: The problems at the border post of Narva-1 are known, but they are unlikely to solve them. In extreme cases, the border can be closed FIRST Appeared on gazeta.ee.
