Border briefs: A legal change and a wish list for better equipment
Parliament passed a bill on Tuesday which will allow the state to clear and mark down the eastern border on private land.
“The law gives a sufficient legal basis to begin clearing the nation's border in those parts, which are currently privately owned,” chair of the Constitutional Committee, Rait Maruste, said.
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Indrek Püvi, who is in charge of the notheast border, said the border around Narva is marked each year by temporary posts, but from the end of the year to early spring the border markings are not visible.
He said his units need better equipment, including good observation and monitoring equipment to fix illegal border crossings. Püvi said many criminal gangs are better equipped than they are.
Cooperation with Russian border guards has deteriorated and stopping illegal border crossings has become more challenging. Many illegal crossings are disputed, although the total number for the first nine months of the year, 49, has slightly dropped compared to last year.
Püvi is responsible for 150 kilometers of border between Estonia and Russia, of which 70 kilometers is the Narva river.