On Thursday, the Saeima adopted amendments to the law on protective strips, which provide for the establishment of a protective strip up to 30 meters wide along the state border and patrol strip.
As previously explained to the deputies, the State Border Guard regularly encounters damage to the fence and patrol strip at the border. The border infrastructure can be damaged by both human activity and natural phenomena, such as falling trees.
In 2024, there were 162 recorded cases where trees damaged border engineering structures, and in 2025, there were 36 cases.
The cost of repairing the damage in the patrol strip and fence in 2024 amounted to 364,000 euros, while last year it was approximately 700,000 euros.
The law provides for the establishment of a protective strip up to 30 meters wide along the state border and patrol strip. Additional restrictions will be introduced in this zone to ensure the safe operation and development of border guard infrastructure.
In the protective strips, economic activities and construction will be possible in agreement with the Ministry of Defense. A procedure for the timely felling of potentially dangerous trees has also been established, and the consent of the Ministry of Defense will be required for the alienation of real estate.
Potentially dangerous trees are considered to be those that are taller than the distance to the state border strip, trees that are permanently tilted from the vertical axis towards the outer land border by more than 15 degrees, trees with visible signs of rot, deciduous trees with asymmetrical crowns, trees gnawed by beavers, and others.
At the same time, the law provides for a flexible approach to maintaining the protective strip - this can be carried out by both the state and, by mutual agreement, landowners or legal managers. The felled wood will remain the property of the landowner.
The law has been developed with national security interests in mind. It provides for proportionate restrictions on property rights that are necessary to ensure the inviolability of the state border and the effective functioning of the border guard system.
Under the influence of climate change, the number of damages caused by storms and snow has been increasing in recent years, which significantly affects the safe operation and maintenance of the border fence and other engineering structures.
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