The upcoming parliamentary election has brought the debate about immigration to the forefront of Finnish politics. Parties disagree about what position on immigration the next government should take.
While immigration is unlikely to become the issue dictating the outcome of the election on April 17, it is one of the main topics of contention.....
“I would say that we certainly have a lot of such discussion now, as triggered by the True Finns,” adjunct professor Arno Tanner from the University of Helsinki told YLE News.
He notes that the crisis in Libya, the Portuguese bailout and the threat of a nuclear catastrophe in Japan have recently overshadowed the immigration debate in Finnish politics.
Lawyer Ida Staffans from the Finnish Refugee Advice Centre agrees: immigration is one of the most prominent issues in the election campaign—perhaps even surprisingly so.
“If you look at the euros actually going to this area, then of course immigration has an effect on the Finnish budget, but perhaps it does not stand in fair relation to the importance of the subject in the discussions,” she says.
What, then, is the scale of immigration into Finland and how does it compare to EU-wide levels?
The figures
Finland is a more popular destination for immigrants than some EU countries, but the number of arrivals pales in comparison to many western European states....
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