The Finnish Defense Ministry announced the introduction of legislation on Monday seeking to ban the acquisition of real estate by Russian nationals and companies within Finland.
The proposal comes amid growing security concerns over Russian influence in Finland’s domestic political landscape. In a press release, the government declared its intention to deny the permits necessary to acquire real estate to citizens or legal entities of any country found to be “in violation of the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of another country or whose country of nationality may be a threat to Finland’s national security.”
Despite the ambiguous wording of the press release, a recent interview with Minister of Defense Antti Häkkänen confirmed that Russian influence was the impetus for the legislation. Russian citizens with Finnish permanent residency, or permanent residency from another European Union or European Economic Area (EEA) state are exempted from the new regulations per the official proposal document.
The proposed law is the result of a working group inquiring into the necessity and viability of such a ban following security concerns over Russian property acquisition in Finland. In a press conference, Häkkänen explained that foreign ownership could create a risk of interference within Finland’s domestic affairs and that the proposed ban would “limit the possibility of a foreign state to exert hostile influence on Finland.”
The presented legislative changes ensure a gradual escalation of border tensions between Russia and Finland since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In July, the Finnish Parliament passed a controversial law introducing temporary measures to combat instrumentalized migration. This empowers Finnish law enforcement and border agents to refuse entry to migrants and asylum seekers at the Russian border. In addition, Finland joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in April 2023, in response to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and a changing geopolitical landscape.
