Fresh concern for Schengen as Sweden, Denmark tighten borders

A temporary fence has already been erected at Copenhagen airport’s Kastrup station, where trains will be stopped for mandatory controls. Sweden requires train companies with s…

The sun sets over the Oresund Bridge between Sweden and Denmark, seen from Lernacken, Sweden, on Sunday Jan. 3, 2016 On upcoming Monday Jan. 4, 2016, new travel restrictions are set to be imposed by Sweden to stem a record flow of migrants, transforming the Oresund bridge between Sweden and Denmark into a striking example of how national boundaries are re-emerging in Europe.

(Johan Nilsson / TT via AP).

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.

Refugees fleeing the violence in Syria make up the largest proportion of people seeking asylum across Europe and in 2013 Sweden became the first country in Europe to rule that all refugees from the war-torn nation would be granted permanent residency in the light of the worsening conflict.

The two are the latest European countries to put in place tougher border security measures. He was charged with “obstructing a railway carriage or engine” under the Malicious Damage Act. He said there would be no problem for “ordinary” Danes and Germans to cross the border.

Citizens on either side of the border between Germany and Denmark have long had ties with one another and have moved freely for the last 15 years.

Albig said the state has appealed to Denmark to apply the measure as briefly as possible to minimize damage. Passengers who fail to present a satisfactory document will be turned back.

Danish Police officers check vehicles at the bordertown of Krusa, Denmark yesterday.

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. But with arrivals running at around 10,000 a week in November, mostly traveling through Denmark, the Swedish government has said it is time to tighten border controls and asylum rules.

Adding his voice to widespread criticism of the move in Berlin, Steinmeier said he was convinced the right to freedom of movement and freedom to travel was “perhaps Europe’s greatest achievement”. “But others argue that Sweden, in the wake of terrorist attacks in Paris and California, must be very vigilant, secure its borders and prevent terrorists pretending to be migrants from entering”.

An inflatable dinghy discovered in early December on the shores of the southern town of Skillinge raised suspicions of such a crossing, but border police said it was “very unlikely” the boat had been used to such ends.

A spokesperson for German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters “We need one thing above all else, and that is a European solution”.

“A dark day for our Nordic region”, former center-right Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt said on his Twitter feed on Monday to describe the imposition of border checks.

Denmark is now enforcing its own temporary controls at its border with Germany, joining neighbours Sweden and Norway in moving to suspend an agreement to keep internal borders open.