Mari Rantanen, Finland’s Interior Minister who also oversees migration, criticised Spanish Prime Minister Sánchez’s decision to regularise thousands of undocumented migrants, suggesting it poses a risk to the Schengen area.
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“I wouldn’t ever suggest acts like that,” the minister told Euronews’ interview programme 12 Minutes With.
“The other thing is that, when we are in a common area, the Schengen area, this team Europe that people are talking about, then I think there is a high risk when some countries are doing basically the complete opposite of the other countries,” she added.
“Because now, for example, those people are very easily able to go to other countries, so I think that we need to all take the responsibility of our common area, also when it comes to migration.”
Spain’s left-wing government approved a plan at the end of January to regularise around 500,000 undocumented migrants by decree, provided they have been in the country for at least five months and before 31 December 2025. The measure aims to address severe labour shortages in key sectors.
This marked a significant break with harsher policies being adopted by many leaders across Europe. The decision was also met by some disapproval in Brussels, with the European Commission voicing concerns that it could conflict with the European Union’s current policy.
Finland, under Rantanen’s watch, has tightened its asylum policy to “match that of the other Nordic countries”, including speeding up asylum request processes and returns. She described this as a paradigm shift.
Interest in return hubs
Rantanen told Euronews the country is also interested in benefitting from new return tools proposed as part of the EU’s Migration Pact, expected to fully enter into force in June 2026.
This includes a regulation enabling EU states to build return hubs in third countries to send back rejected asylum seekers by placing them in detention facilities located outside of the EU’s borders.
When asked whether Finland is in discussions with other countries outside Europe for return hubs, Rantanen said the country is “very much interested in that option” and has discussed it “with Nordic countries”.
However, she stopped short of naming possible destinations for such hubs. “We need to have this regulation first, of course.” The European Parliament still has to negotiate and finalise these proposals with the Council.
Many civil society organisations have warned that such facilities could result in people being held in prison-like conditions, and stressed there is a grave risk of increased human rights violations.
Rantanen rejected the notion that such return hubs are inhumane. “Because there is always the option to go back to your country of origin.” This idea has also been rejected by civil society, with experts warning of the risk of “refoulement”, or returning people to dangerous situations
Solidarity mechanism
Also included in the EU Migration Pact is a “mandatory solidarity” mechanism to assist member states under migratory pressure. Countries can either relocate asylum seekers or provide financial or operational support.
However, few member states are opting to accept people under this principle, raising questions of whether the pact is ineffective. This was dismissed by the Finnish minister. “There are options on how to show your solidarity, and Finland has chosen to help by giving money,” she said. For 2026, her country will pay around €6 million.
She argued that she does not believe European migration policies can be resolved with solidarity. “I think we need to work on (…) really decreasing the number of people coming to Europe.”
When it comes to actions the EU should be taking but has yet to push forward on, Rantanen pointed to tackling the people smuggling business. “This should be done by having a presence on the other side of the sea,” she said.
“And, for example, by looking for possible safe ports so that, if somebody is rescued, they are brought back to a third country, not to Europe.”
Every year, thousands of people die at sea trying to reach Europe. At least 2,185 people died or went missing in the Mediterranean in 2025, while 1,214 were recorded on the Western Africa/Atlantic route toward the Canary Islands, according to new data from the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
Asked whether Frontex, the European Union’s border agency, could see its mandate expanded to provide this presence outside the EU, she responded, “Frontex’s mandate is actually being rewritten, so there could be, I think, possibilities for that.”
Certain EU countries have already expressed their willingness to give Frontex a major role in returns and potentially, a wider presence in non-EU countries.
