Denmark introduces temporary controls at border with Germany

Rasmussen warned 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.

A security staff checks the ID of a passenger at the train station Copenhagen International Airport in Kastrup to prevent illegal migrants entering Sweden on Monday Jan. 4, 2016.

The migration crisis has been a major point of contention between the two neighbours, with Denmark’s right-wing government actively discouraging migrants and refugees from settling in the country. The move by Sweden is an attempt to stop the flow of undocumented migrants into the country.

Over a million refugees from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan have arrived in the European Union in 2015 by crossing the Mediterranean to Greece or Italy, causing chaos in the 28-nation block. Denmark has cut benefits to new arrivals by about 50 percent and has introduced tough language requirements for those seeking permanent residency. “It’s quite sad to see that, now that Sweden has started to decide to have fewer asylum seekers, more countries are following”.

Identity checks went into effect at midnight Monday for travellers from Denmark to Sweden as part of measures to reduce the flow of migrants into Sweden.

Around 20,000 commuters cross the Oresund bridge, which connects Malmo and Lund with Copenhagen, the Danish capital, every day.

Reacting to the Scandinavian border checks, Germany warned that the passport-free Schengen zone was “in danger”. “It’s important that we get an order where we gain control over how people move around in the Schengen area”, he said in an interview on Monday. Germany says Europe’s system of passport-free travel across borders is in danger following the decision by Denmark to step up controls on its southern frontier with Germany. He acknowledged, however, that the influx of migrants was putting enormous strains on the system.

Several other European Union countries, including Germany, Austria and France, also re-imposed border checks previous year as the continent grappled with its biggest refugee crisis since World War II.

Given the huge numbers of Syrians who have already been given protection in Sweden (16,785 in 2014 alone), it is unsurprising that many refugees would prefer to set up home close to friends and family.

Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said he had introduced the measure to ensure that “refugees and migrants are not stranded in Denmark”, in what he called “a reaction to a decision made in Sweden”.

Denmark said its controls would last for 10 days but could be extended. He said there would be no problem for “ordinary” Danes and Germans to cross the border.

Her spokesman Steffen Seibert said: “The solution won’t take place on national borders between country A and country B”.

He stressed that the Danish checks on the German border wouldn’t be as far-reaching.

Should migrants and refugees be checked at the Swedish and Danish border?

Carl Bildt, a former prime minister and foreign minister of Sweden, condemned the measures introduced by his country, writing on Twitter that it was “a dark day for our Nordic region”. “Other costs are due to the loss of income, because we have a decreasing amount of passengers because of this”, said Tony Bispeskov, a spokesman for Danish train operator DSB.