Last year almost 600 people trying to enter Finland illegally were stopped at Finnish points of entry. Between 15 and 20 people are caught each year for trying to slip across the border at points which are not official crossings.

   

In addition to those trying to walk across the Finnish-Russian border, some have been caught hiding on ships or inside freight containers.

   

Most who try to enter Finland illegally are from the former Soviet Union, the Far East, and Africa.

Finland accounts for a very small share

of the total number of people trying to enter the European Union illegally. Last year about 72,000 people were stopped at the external borders of the EU. Two thirds of them were caught at sea - mainly the Mediterranean.

   

Many are not caught: according to various estimates about half a million illegal immigrants enter the EU each year.

The figures are from

the first report of the EU's Risk Analysis Centre (RAC). The report, which was issued on Friday, focuses on the EU's external borders.

   

Officials say that Finland is not a very important target of would-be illegal immigrants.

   

"Finland is mainly a transit country. We do not have the kinds of large concentrations of ethnic groups, which people like these like to seek out", says Lieutenant-General Hannu Ahonen, head of the Finnish Frontier Guard.

   

Ahonen does not believe that Finland's role in illegal immigration would undergo any dramatic changes in the coming years.

   

The main change might come from the fact that Russia has moved much of its border guard resources away from the Finnish border in recent years. Russia is putting a higher priority on Central Asia, where the goal is to fight illegal immigration and drug smuggling more efficiently than before.

   

Estonia's membership in the EU should not have an immediate impact on the situation, because the country will not join the Schengen treaty until later.

The RAC, which was set up

at the beginning of April, is aimed at increasing cooperation among the border officials of all EU member states. Finnish border officials do not believe that the final goal would be the establishment of a multinational border guard institution.

   

"The greatest benefit would come from increasing cooperation of the national units", says Lieutenant-General Kimmo Elomaa of the of the Finnish Frontier Guard.

   

The RAC has its offices in Helsinki in connection with the staff headquarters of the Finnish Frontier Guard.

   

In addition to Finland, the RAC has representatives in The Netherlands, Austria, Norway, and Germany.

   

The purpose of the centre is to supply information to the External Border Practitioners' Common Unit comprising heads of the national border guard associations.

   

The RAC, which was established at the EU summit in Seville last year, issued its first report in Brussels on Friday.