Finnish PM pledges to provide his house to refugees

Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila said he is willing to provide his little-used house to refugees, reported Finnish media on Saturday.

Sipila travels to Oulu, northern Finland, on Saturday to discuss issues on accommodating arriving asylum seekers with the local authorities. At the same time, he will also hand over his house in Kempele near Oulu for settling refugees, said the national broadcaster Yle.

The prime minister said he had agreed with his family about the decision and it would be available from the end of this year.

The prime minister said he would like to encourage Finns to help refugees arriving in Finland. He also called on Finnish churches and non-governmental organizations to help with the growing need for accommodations.

"I hope this becomes some kind of people's movement that will inspire many to shoulder part of the burden in this refugee housing crisis," Sipila was cited as saying.

Since the beginning of this year, a large number of refugees have poured into the European Union. The refugee crisis has become "the most serious problem" in Europe.

According to the latest figures published by the International Organization for Migration, there have been 237,000 illegal immigrants crossing the Mediterranean into Europe.

On Friday, Finnish Ministry of Interior raised its estimate of number of asylum seekers arriving in Finland in 2015 from 15,000 to 30,000.

The stress of new arrivals has hit northern Finland. Arrivals by boat in southern Finland are required to present identify documents. Then the refugees have started using the land borders in northern Finland. There is no border control there.

The situation is bad in Oulu, a major city in northern Finland. Refugees have been staying overnight in the street outside the police station. Asylum seekers have to register at a police station if they have crossed the border without registration. The gym of the police station has now been opened for a temporary waiting area. Endit