Finnish government to ban Russian property purchases

A law proposing that Russian citizens and entities be banned from buying property in Finland to minimise the security risk in times of crisis has been put forward by the Finnish Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen on Monday (2 September).

A working group set up by Häkkänen (National Coalition party, EPP) in May proposed that the ban apply to citizens and funds from countries that the EU considers having violated other countries' territorial sovereignty and that could threaten Finland's national security.  

“In practice, this broader wording makes it possible to target Russians who might buy property in Finland”, a source close to the matter told Euractiv.  

“But this wording also has the advantage of being able to be extended to other countries. Just in case.” 

When work on the proposal began, Häkkänen said that Russia has shown that it is prepared to exploit "soft spots" in Western society through its war of aggression in Europe. 

"Border security, critical infrastructure and property ownership must be protected in advance so that they cannot be used to weaken society”, he said, adding that Finland cannot afford to be complacent. 

For some time now, the Finnish government has wanted to ban Russian citizens and entities from buying real estate in Finland as it believes it could be used to jeopardise the country's security, economy, infrastructure and security of supply, among other things. 

Euractiv understands that the proposal could include some exceptions, such as those with permanent residence permits or dual citizenship if one of the citizenships is Finnish. 

Relations between Finland and its Russian neighbour have been particularly tense since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Last month, Helsinki even passed a so-called law of exception aimed at stopping asylum seekers at the Finnish-Russian border, as Moscow is accused of using migrants to put pressure on Finland's borders.  

The legislative proposal for a law banning Russians from purchasing real estate in Finland should pass before the Finnish Parliament this autumn, when it will likely be put to a vote.

[Edited by Alice Taylor-Braçe]