Pocket fluff to border crossing station
-We are strengthening Storskog with staff and improvement of infrastructure, says Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. But the 2012 grant is only half of what the police earlier this year said was needed to meet the border crossing boom between Russia and Norway.
The announcement to grant NOK 12,8 million (€1,7 million) comes as a leakages from next year’s state budget. Such leakages are normal in election years in Norway.
The amount is however only half of what the local police in charge of the border station earlier this year said was needed for immediate measures at Storskog for 2011 and 2012.
- We are strengthening Storskog with personnel, better infrastructure, language training and measures to establish better contact between Norwegian and Russian border authorities, says Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre in a press-release.
A report published by the police in March this year said NOK 23 million (€3 million) was needed for 2011 and additional NOK 1,64 million (€217.000) was needed in 2012. The police was hoping to get an extraordinary funding in Norway’s revised state budget for 2011 presented this spring, but got nothing.
The numbers of border-crossings between Russia’s Kola Peninsula and Norway increased by 40 percent so far this year compared with 2010. In peak-hours the queues at the border are chaotic.
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Expanding the capacity at Storskog has been a high-profile case for the authorities for many years. Over the last four years, five ministers have visited Storskog. All have been informed about the urgent needs to improve both the border station and expand the numbers of immigration officials.
Interviewed by BarentsObserver in June this year, Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said. –We are very aware of the situation at Storskog. This is something we are working with. Then we will see if we can afford it, Stoltenberg said.
In 2003, a brand new border station opened on the Russian side of the border. The Russian border station was financed by Norway by some NOK 25 million (€3,3 million).
Next year’s funding to the Norwegian border station at Storskog will mainly be allocated to increase the numbers of immigration officers. Eight new police-officers will be employed from April 2012, and additional four from July, according to a press-release posted on the portal of the Foreign Ministry.
The Foreign Ministry also says the visa-free travel regime for inhabitants living less than 30 kilometres from the border on each side first will be in force from May 2012. Earlier the Ministry has communicated that this visa-freedom will be introduced from January 1st.
The main part of the estimated increase in border traffic over the next three years is however not believed to come because of visa-freedom for border area citizens, but due to the rapid increase in Russian’s with multi-entry visa to Norway and Schengen-area.
NOK 6,4 million (€845.000) of next year’s Storskog funding will be spent on improving the border station with additional passport control windows and extra lanes for vehicles standing in queue awaiting to cross the border.
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All announced construction measures at the border station is provisional. By the end of this year, a feasibility study initiated by the Ministry of Justice will presented with the plans to build a brand new border station to be open sometime during 2014-2015.
