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Monday, January 4, 2016

Fresh concern for Schengen as Sweden, Denmark tighten borders

Yahoo – AFP, Sören Billing, January 4, 2016

Danish security personnel check travellers IDs at the train station in Kastrup,
on January 4, 2015 (AFP Photo/Nils Meilvang)

Copenhagen (AFP) - Sweden on Monday imposed controls on travellers arriving from Denmark in a bid to curb an unprecedented 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 with Denmark went into effect, the Danish government, which fears being saddled with large numbers of migrants, announced it would implement spot checks on its border with Germany.

More than three million migrants are
 expected to arrive in Europe by 2017,
 according to the European Commission
(AFP Photo/Aris Messinis)
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.

Swedish Migration Minister Morgan Johansson defended his country's systematic controls, saying they were aimed at "preventing an acute situation where we can no longer welcome asylum seekers properly".

The new measures mean travellers between the neighbouring countries will have to show their ID cards for the first time since the late 1950s, when a Nordic agreement on passport-free travel came into force that predates the 20-year-old Schengen zone.

Domino effect

Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen cited the Swedish checks to justify his own country's immediate introduction of random border controls.

Danish security staff check passenger 
ID's at Kastrup airport's train station 
outside Copenhagen, on January 4, 
2016 (AFP Photo/Björn Lindgren)
"We are simply reacting to a decision made in Sweden... This is not a happy moment at all," he told reporters.

Rasmussen warned that Sweden's controls could have a domino effect on Denmark, which received just 21,000 asylum requests in 2015, compared to Sweden's 163,000.

"It's clear the EU is not able to protect its outer borders and other countries are going to be forced to introduce ... border controls," he said, adding: "Europe's leaders must react to this."

Under Schengen rules, countries are allowed to re-introduce border checks for up to six months in exceptional circumstances.

On Monday, extra security staff were on hand 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 proceeded smoothly but travellers were warned to expect longer queues and delays during the early evening rush hour when commuters with jobs in Denmark return home to Sweden.

Tens of thousands of journeys are recorded on the bridge each day, including 8,600 people who commute between jobs and their homes in Copenhagen and the southern Swedish city of Malmo.

Denmark says it will maintain controls 
at the German border for at least 10
days (AFP Photo/Palle Peter Skov)
'A Berlin Wall'

Under the new rules, all rail passengers now have to exit the train at Copenhagen airport's Kastrup station and clear checkpoints before boarding again.

A private security company at the station could be seen checking and photographing traveller IDs before allowing passengers on trains.

Officials at Danish train operator DSB confirmed a small number of people had been turned away, but would not specify if they were migrants or just commuters lacking proper ID.

"If they don't have photo ID then we say sorry, we can't let you on board," DSB spokesman Tony Bispeskov said.

Temporary fencing has also been erected at Kastrup station to prevent people from trying to sneak onto Sweden-bound trains.

The Oresund Bridge links Sweden and 
Denmark (AFP Photo/Johan Nilsson)
"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.

The new measures come after Sweden -- which has taken in more asylum seekers per capita than any other EU nation -- said it could no longer cope with the unregulated flow of arrivals.

More than one million migrants reached Europe in 2015, most of whom were refugees fleeing war and violence in Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, according to the United Nations refugee agency.

Europe has struggled to respond to the continent's biggest refugee crisis since World War II, with several Schengen countries, including Germany, Austria and France, already re-imposing border checks last year.

Last week Norway, which is not an EU member but belongs to Schengen, announced it would start turning back refugees without visas arriving from elsewhere in the Schengen area, particularly Sweden.

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