This article is from the source 'washpo' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/sweden-introduces-new-border-checks-to-stem-migrant-flow/2016/01/04/9ecf134a-b2cc-11e5-8abc-d09392edc612_story.html

The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 2 Version 3
Sweden, Denmark introduce border checks to stem migrant flow Sweden, Denmark introduce border checks to stem migrant flow
(about 2 hours later)
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Denmark and Sweden tightened their borders on Monday in efforts to stem the flow of migrants entering Scandinavia from Germany. COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Denmark and Sweden tightened border checks on Monday to stem the flow of migrants coming in from Germany, dealing fresh blows to the vision of a Europe without national boundaries.
Just hours after Swedish rules went into effect requiring train passengers traveling from Denmark to show ID, the Danish government announced it had beefed up border controls with Germany as of noon Monday (1100 GMT, 6 a.m. EST). As of midnight Sunday, Sweden demanded that all passengers traveling by train from Denmark show ID, something that hasn’t been required since the 1950s.
“We are introducing temporary border controls, but in a balanced way,” Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen told reporters in Copenhagen, adding there would be no problem for “ordinary” Danes and Germans to cross the border. Within hours of the Swedish measure taking effect, the Danish government announced it was stepping up controls of its border with Germany, to make sure that migrants headed for Sweden don’t get stuck in Denmark.
“The government doesn’t want Denmark to become a new big destination for refugees,” Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen said.
The moves were the latest by European Union countries to suspend an agreement to keep internal borders open after 1 million migrants entered the 28-nation bloc in 2015, most of them by crossing the Mediterranean to Greece or Italy.The moves were the latest by European Union countries to suspend an agreement to keep internal borders open after 1 million migrants entered the 28-nation bloc in 2015, most of them by crossing the Mediterranean to Greece or Italy.
“If the European Union cannot protect the external border, you will see more and more countries forced to introduce temporary border controls,” Loekke Rasmussen said. Loekke Rasmussen said if the EU can’t protect its external border “you will see more and more countries forced to introduce temporary border controls.”
He said the Danish move was in response to new ID checks introduced by Sweden on Monday for all passengers entering the country by train, bus or ferry. Refugee rights advocates warned of a domino effect, with European countries tightening their borders one by one and cutting off the main migrant routes through Europe.
“This could lead to more refugees and migrants being stopped on their journey northward, and therefore ending up with us in Denmark,” the prime minister said. When the new Swedish rules were announced last month, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said they “could have the effect of preventing individuals from exercising the right to seek asylum.”
His government has taken a series of measures to discourage migrants from coming to Denmark, including a proposal to seize their jewelry to cover their expenses. To comply with the new rules, passengers on Monday had to show identification to board trains departing from Copenhagen Airport to Sweden across a bridge-and-tunnel link. The move was meant to deter migrants, many of whom are entering illegally.
The Swedish government initially had a welcoming attitude to migrants, but reversed course after more than 160,000 Syrians, Iraqis, Afghans and others applied for asylum in 2015, the highest number in Europe except for Germany. It appeared to have an immediate effect. Swedish police spokeswoman Ewa-Gun Westford said that as of midday Monday only one asylum-seeker had arrived by train across the bridge. At the height of the migrant crisis a few months ago, more than 1,000 asylum-seekers crossed the bridge daily.
To comply with the new Swedish rules, passengers on Monday had to show identification to board trains departing from Copenhagen Airport to Sweden across a bridge-and-tunnel link. In response, Denmark beefed up its border controls with Germany as of noon Monday (1100 GMT, 6 a.m. EST). The Danish prime minister said the move was necessary because the Swedish rules “could lead to more refugees and migrants being stopped on their journey northward, and therefore ending up with us in Denmark.”
Danish officials have criticized the move and suggested Sweden should pay for the cost of the ID checks. He said the Danish checks wouldn’t be as far-reaching as the Swedish ones, entailing only “spot checks” on passengers on trains crossing the mainland border on the Jutland peninsula and on ferries arriving in the Danish ports of Gedser and Roedby. He said there would be no problem for “ordinary” Danes and Germans to cross the border.
Loekke Rasmussen called the Swedish move a “big setback” for efforts to deepen ties between Copenhagen and southern Sweden and predicted it would cause problems for commuters.
He stressed that the Danish checks on the German border wouldn’t be as far-reaching. They would entail “spot checks” on passengers on trains crossing the mainland border on the Jutland peninsula and on ferries arriving in the Danish ports of Gedser and Roedby.
“We are not talking about controlling everyone coming in from Germany,” he said.“We are not talking about controlling everyone coming in from Germany,” he said.
German officials didn’t comment directly Monday on the Danish decision, but Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said Loekke Rasmussen had spoken with the German leader. His center-right government has taken a series of measures to discourage migrants from coming to Denmark, including a proposal to seize their jewelry to cover their expenses in the country.
Germany introduced border controls of its own on the Austrian frontier in mid-September and Seibert said those have been successful — “but it is clear to all of us in Europe ... that we need an overall European solution. The solution won’t be found at national borders between country A and country B.” Sweden’s left-leaning government initially had a welcoming attitude to migrants, but reversed course after more than 160,000 Syrians, Iraqis, Afghans and others applied for asylum in 2015, the highest number in Europe except for Germany.
More than 190,000 migrants crossed the German-Danish border last year. About 13,000 applied for asylum in Denmark, while others traveled further north to Sweden, Norway and Finland, Loekke Ramussen said. German officials said Europe’s system of passport-free travel across borders is in danger following the Scandinavian moves.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Schaefer said that the so-called Schengen system of passport-free travel “is very important, but it’s in danger due to the flow of refugees that we in Europe have indeed been struggling to deal with in the past months.”
He echoed other German officials’ calls for a pan-European agreement on how to control the movement of migrants across borders.
Interior Ministry spokesman Johannes Dimroth said Germany would carefully watch the Danish border controls to evaluate “whether and how this affects migration northward from Germany.”
Germany introduced border controls of its own on the Austrian frontier in mid-September.
More than 190,000 migrants crossed the German-Danish border last year. About 13,000 applied for asylum in Denmark, while others traveled further north to Sweden, Norway and Finland, Loekke Rasmussen said.
______
Karl Ritter reported from Stockholm. Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report. Karl Ritter reported from Stockholm. Geir Moulson and Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed to this report.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.