Discussion arose among trade union activists carrying out border control duties in Finland, in the Finnish Union of the Border Guards, Pardia, and also in the state committee (NEA) of our European level organisation EPSU during spring 2009 on the need for border control personnel to network. There is a demand for co-operation, dialogue and information exchange in questions relating to the field and the demand further increases as the environment and duties of border control change and develop.

Initially, the website mainly acts as an information channel for the European level seminar on border control but we hope the website will develop into a real channel of interaction and information among border control personnel.

The technical aspects of the website have been built by Mr Isto Turpeinen, a member of the Finnish Union of the Border Guards, as voluntary work. The contents and texts are provided by the Union of Border Guards’ chief shop steward Mr Markku Pietikäinen and Ms Päivikki Kumpulainen who as International Adviser is responsible for Pardia’s international affairs.