Sweden introduces border controls

Refugees stopped at the Swedish border will now face three choices.

STOCKHOLMSweden will impose temporary border controls from Thursday in response to a record influx of refugees, a turnaround for a country known for its open-door policies that also threw down the gauntlet to other European Union nations hit by a migration crisis.

Almost 200,000 refugees and migrants are expected to arrive in Sweden this year, more per head of population than any other European Union country.

However, with the crisis showing no sign of letting up, Germany told the European Commission it would keep them in place until October 31st as “the situation at the border is such that we can not do without them”.

“We must hurry, but without panic”, he said after a summit with African leaders that will be followed by an emergency European Union summit later on Thursday in Valletta to discuss migration and notably efforts to secure a deal with Turkey to slow departures.

Laura Boldrini, president of the Chamber of Deputies, also said Wednesday that Europe needs to “implement protection, not defense” measures like the razor-wire fence Italy’s neighbor to the east, Slovenia, began putting up along its border with Croatia.

Swedish Interior Minister Anders Ygeman said the centre-left government had acted “in order to obtain security and stability… not to limit the number of asylum seekers, but to get better control of the flow of asylum seekers to Sweden”.

The Swedish Migration Agency already plans to shelter thousands of refugees in heated tents due to a housing shortage, while a few people may be accommodated in venues such as ski resorts and a theme park.

The European Union is offering Turkey – which is hosting more than 2 million Syrian refugees – a package of sweeteners for it to crack down on border security, including billions of euros and speeding up its European Union membership talks.

A two-day summit held on the Mediterranean island of Malta was meant to focus on how to send back to Africa those who don’t qualify for asylum and discourage others from attempting the risky journey across the seas in search of a better life.

“If we are to cope with this mutual challenge, the other countries must take their responsibility”.

The mass influx to Europe has overwhelmed border authorities and countries simply to do not have the capacity to accommodate everyone.

There are now more than 140 people in the center. “Then the border controls are going to have the opposite effect”, Robert Hårdh, head of human rights organization Civil Rights Defenders, told the Svenska Dagbladet newspaper on Thursday. The group was asked whether they sought asylum and after one refugee appeared to translate, most raised their hands.

The decision to reinstate border checks is temporary and valid for 10 days but can be renewed for up to six months under Schengen regulations on free movement.