EU Calls Talks on New Border Checks with Sweden, Denmark, Germany

Danish police on patrol on highway E45 close to Padborg, near the border with Germany, 4 January 2016. Denmark imposed temporary controls along its border with Germany hours after Sweden introduced ID controls for travellers from Denmark. EPA/BGNES

The EU has invited officials of Denmark, Sweden and Germany to an emergency meeting on Wednesday after the two Scandinavian countries tightened border checks in a bid to cope with the worst migration crisis in Europe since WWII.

The reintroduction of border controls by Sweden and Denmark is raising concerns about the future of the EU’s Schengen zone of passport-free travel, of which both countries are members.

"The goal of this meeting is to improve coordination between the concerned countries in order to ensure better management of the migratory pressure," AFP quoted European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas as saying on Tuesday.

More than one million refugees and migrants arrived in Europe last year.

The announcement of the upcoming emergency talks in Brussels called by EU Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos comes a day after Sweden introduced mass identity checks at its borders for the first time in 50 years. Shortly after, neighbouring Denmark announced that it was temporarily introducing tougher controls on its border with Germany as a direct result of Sweden's decision.

Sweden and Germany are among the main destinations sought out by migrants and refugees entering the EU.

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.

Several other EU member states including Austria, Germany and France have recently toughened border checks. Schengen rules allow for such measures to be imposed for up to six months in exceptional circumstances.

 

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