Estonia will temporarily establish border controls in connection with the Informal Meeting of the NATO Foreign Ministers

The government approved a regulation on Thursday 18 March, whereby border controls and the guarding of the state border will temporarily be established for the period when the Informal Meeting of the NATO Foreign Ministers will be taking place in Estonia.

In connection with the Informal Meeting of the NATO Foreign Ministers in Tallinn, border controls will temporarily be established from 17 April to 23 April. In order to guarantee security and public order, during this period border controls will be carried out in regard to persons entering Estonia on the Estonian-Latvian border, as well as at the ports and airports.

“In the case of events of such importance, the restoration of temporary controls on the internal borders of the Schengen zone is also a usual practice in other countries. For instance, Italy and Germany have previously established border controls during high-level meetings”, Minister of the Interior Marko Pomerants said.

The provisions of the Schengen border regulations, the State Border Act and border regime rules will apply for the control of the persons and vehicles crossing the state border and for guarding of the state border. The Defence League will also participate in guarding the state border.

The Ministry of the Interior in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will inform the international public, European Parliament, European Commission and other member states of the temporary re-establishment of border controls and the guarding of the state border.

The regulations approved by the government will enter into force on 5 April in order to guarantee the necessary preparation for the temporary establishment of border controls.

For more details of the temporary border controls: http://www.siseministeerium.ee/45250