Not dead, but free travel in Europe in doubt amid ID checks

Sweden’s Migration Minister Morgan Johansson, Denmark’s Immigration Minister Inger Stojberg and German State Secretary of the Interior Ole Schroeder have been invited to the meeting in Brussels, Schinas said.

Travellers wanting to use bus and train services across the Oresund bridge that connects the two countries, or use ferry services, will not be allowed to enter the country without the necessary documents.

The European Commission wants them to collaborate more in resolving migration and border issues which, it is feared, are calling the fundamental principal of free movement of people, or Schengen Area:http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/what-we-do/policies/borders-and-visas/schengen/index_en.htm, into question.

“Sweden has received approximately 115,000 asylum seekers in the last four months alone”, Fredrik Bengtsson, spokesperson of Sweden’s Migration Agency, told RFI.

More than one million migrants fleeing conflicts and poverty in the Middle East and beyond sought shelter in Europe in 2015. Under the new rules, rail commuters have to exit the train at the airport and go through checkpoints before boarding the train again in order to travel onwards to Sweden.

Mr. Schaefer told reporters in Berlin on Monday that the Schengen system “is very important, but it’s in danger due to the flow of refugees”.

Marten Jegenstam, a 41-year-old consultant who lives in Denmark but works in Sweden, said that controls were needed.

The changes are aimed at keeping out undocumented refugees and come after Sweden, which has taken in more asylum seekers per capita than any other European nation, said it could no longer cope with the unregulated flow of new arrivals at the end of 2015.

According to Lorne Cook of the Associated Press, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, Germany, Norway and France all have tightened up control of their borders through checks.

Officials say the controls will last for ten days, but can be extended.

A Danish network called Medmenneskesmuglere [fellow-human smugglers] – humanitarian activists who help asylum seekers pass borders for free – has said it is ready to assist refugees in travelling to Sweden from Denmark by boat.

For the first time in over six decades, travelers crossing between Sweden and Denmark will be forced to undergo ID checks.

Peo Hansen, professor of political science at Linkoping University, warned that the ID controls could lead to refugees choosing more risky routes to reach Sweden.

The move has also drawn backlash from ordinary citizens in both countries, with the head of the Commuters Association, the organization that represents those who make the daily commute across the border, telling that some are even referring to the border as “the new Iron Curtain”.

Sweden has also imposed mandatory presentation of IDs for refugees traveling between Denmark and Sweden, a first such move since the late 1950s, when a Nordic agreement on passport-free travel came into force.

Sweden is trying to reduce the number of migrants entering the country. “You didn’t see the border before, but now it’s clear to see that there are two countries”.