Sweden imposes ID checks at Danish border, Denmark introduces controls at German border
Sweden imposes ID checks at Danish border, Denmark introduces controls at German border
Sweden on Monday imposed controls on travellers arriving from Denmark to try to curb an influx of refugees, prompting knock-on measures from Denmark that triggered fresh concern for Europe’s Schengen passport-free zone.
Hours after the Swedish controls on a major bridge-and-tunnel link went into effect, Denmark, which fears being saddled with large numbers of migrants, announced it too would implement spot checks on its border with Germany.
Sweden began checking documents of travellers from Denmark on Monday for the first time in half-a-century, causing delays of up to 50 minutes for trains and buses crossing the 7.9 km Oresund Bridge, Europe’s longest combined road and rail bridge. However, private vehicles were exempt from the checks.
Denmark’s Prime Minister said Sweden’s move gave his country no option but to impose its own border controls and he appealed to the European Union to take “collective decisions” to better protect its external borders against the tide of migrants.
“The Swedish ID checks can increase the risk of a large number of illegal immigrants to accumulate in and around Copenhagen,” Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told a press conference in Copenhagen, justifying the new controls on the German border.
“We are simply reacting to a decision made in Sweden ... This is not a happy moment at all,” he said.
Mr Rasmussen warned Sweden’s controls could have a domino effect on Denmark, which received just 18,000 asylum requests in 2015, compared to Sweden’s estimated 1,60,000.
Alarmed by the restrictions, which come as both Germany and Sweden grapple with record migrant numbers, Berlin warned Europe’s Schengen zone was “in danger”.
“Freedom of movement is an important principle — one of the biggest achievements (in the European Union) in recent years,” German foreign ministry spokesman Martin Schaefer told reporters.
“Schengen is very important but it is in danger,” he said.
Last week Norway, which is not an EU member but does belong to the Schengen area, said it would start turning back refugees without visas arriving from elsewhere in the Schengen zone, particularly Sweden.
Brussels has granted Sweden a six-month exemption from the Schengen agreement on free circulation to allow it carry out ID checks on all travellers arriving from Denmark.
Extra security staff were on hand Monday at the Danish side of the Oresund crossing, a major entry point for migrants and refugees hoping to start a new life in Sweden.
The controls had proceeded smoothly by midday, but travellers were warned to expect longer queues and delays during the afternoon rush hour when commuters with jobs in Denmark return home to Sweden.
Under the new rules, rail passengers have to exit the train and clear checkpoi-nts before boarding again — the first time in more than 50 years travellers between the two countries have been checked. Those without valid ID will be refused entry.
A private security company checked and photographed traveller IDs before allowing passengers on trains.
A temporary fence has already been erected at Copenhagen airport’s Kastrup station, where trains will be stopped for mandatory controls.
“It’s as if we are building a Berlin Wall here. We are going several steps back in time,” said Michael Randropp, a spokesman for the local Kystbanen commuters’ association.
