Ministry of Interior disputes Ministry of Labour’s accusations on asylum issues

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The Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Labour continue to lock horns over asylum issues.
      The Ministry of the Interior disputes the Ministry of Labour’s allegations of a "hostile and accusatory" atmosphere.
     
In Thursday’s issue of Helsingin Sanomat, Mervi Virtanen, head of the political section of the Ministry of Labour, said that the ministries in question hardly ever exchange views at any level on matters related to asylum seekers.
      "I am rather astonished", says Ritva Viljanen Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of the Interior, in response to Virtanen’s comments.
      According to Viljanen, there is no crisis. "In my view, we have cooperation at all official government levels between the two ministries."
     
Minister of the Interior Kari Rajamäki (SDP), who was attending a two-day meeting of EU justice and interior ministers, refrained from commenting on the allegations. The meeting opened in Brussels on Thursday.
      Rajamäki did not want to start "pointing fingers at anyone". He stood up for the civil servants of his ministry saying that they are "quite capable of communicating and thinking".
      "Illegal immigration and trafficking in humans cannot be averted without closer cooperation among all government officials. Faced with human trafficking, it takes humility to recognise the difficult task that lies ahead for all of us, both nationally and internationally", Rajamäki comments.
     
The heart of the problem is the question of who should be primarily responsible of asylum seekers in Finland.
      The asylum applications are handled by the Directorate of Immigration, which operates under the Ministry of the Interior’s jurisdiction. The Ministry of Labour, in turn, is responsible for refugee reception centres, custody of asylum seekers, and organising their resettlement.
     
The Ministry of the Interior would like to take over all the matters related to asylum seekers. Permanent Secretary Viljanen argues that this arrangement would result in less dispersed administration, which, for one, would result in shorter handling times of applications.
      Viljanen points out that immigration, border control, and the municipalities responsible for domiciliation of asylum seekers already fall under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior.
      Permanent Secretary Markku Wallin, in turn, summarises the Ministry of Labour’s view: given the sensitivity of the target group, asylum seekers’ affairs cannot be handled by the ministry responsible for police affairs.
     
The strife was prompted earlier this week, when the fate of a number of Chinese, who have gone missing from a refugee reception centre, became the topic of wider public debate.
      On Thursday the Baltic Sea countries, led by Finland, decided to launch a project to address the problem of trafficking in humans - Chinese children in particular. Permanent Secretary Viljanen, who chaired the meeting held in the resort of Saariselkä in Finnish Lapland, expressed her concern over prostitution.
      "People hardly brag about buying a stolen car, but in work teams people chat and laugh about purchasing sexual services", she rebukes.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Ministries of Interior and Labour at odds over asylum issues (1.12.2005)

Links:
  Directorate of Immigration

Helsingin Sanomat