Sweden has announced the introduction of temporary border checks to control the flow of migrants into the country.
Advertisement
It is the right wing in Sweden as well that will be encouraging the border controls to be extended after this initial ten day period.
This is remarkable because Sweden’s only land borders are with Norway and Finland, far to the north and do not provide easy access to the country.
Swedish Interior Minister, Anders Ygeman, said that this became necessary after Police warned that a surge in new arrivals posed a threat to public order.
Authorities said they believed many of refugees would pass through Denmark and continue to Sweden, where they would seek asylum.
Nearly 200,000 migrants are expected to arrive in Sweden this year per head of population than every other European Union country.
Sweden’s border controls will primarily extend to the bridge across the Oresund strait separating Sweden and Denmark and ferry ports in the region.
Until now, refugees would be able to enter Sweden without any form of checks, via train or ferry.
The center-right leader says “we are not going to have the chaotic situation in Denmark that we have seen in other countries”.
However, many African leaders have criticised the amount being offered as inadequate. More than 770,000 people have arrived in the European Union by sea so far this year overwhelming border authorities and receptions centers.
The decision underscores Sweden’s growing disquiet that it had reached its limit for dealing with an influx of asylum seekers.
The country of 2 million has started putting up a razor-wire fence on the border with Croatia, which has fueled tensions between the two neighbors.
“The big problem is in Europe”, Fredrik Bengtsson, spokesman for Migrationsverket, said.
“Welcoming refugees must be done with order and care”, Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said in Malta, where he is taking part in a meeting between European and African leaders on the migrant crisis.
Sweden has introduced border controls, as a high number of refugees look to repatriate there.
She said “if everyone seals themselves off, then Europe and the (passport-free) Schengen area will no longer be what they were”.
The refugees, mostly Syrians and Iraqis, fled violence and unrest in the Middle East and began entering Europe through Turkey and Greece, migrating northwestward hundreds of miles across Macedonia, Serbia, and Hungary.
Advertisement
Last week, Stockholm urged the European Commission (EC) to arrange for a few migrants to be moved to other EU states.
