Sweden decides to impose border controls it had before, Denmark followed suit, which all resulted for the ministers from the said countries including Germany to meet in Brussels and resolve border issues.
The meeting was held this Wednesday, Jan. 6, where the European Commission expects the countries to work together and come up with a solution for their border and migration problem. After all, Schengen is where citizens from 26 European countries can migrate or travel freely without having to worry about visa.
The meeting was prompted when Sweden decided to check travel documents, specifically in the Oresund Bridge that is considered to be the longest road and rail crossing in Europe. The country implemented its border controls due to the massive wave of migrants since November. There were 10,000 people per week that were traveling from Denmark, which is why Sweden imposed strict border checks from the said country. In 2015, it was estimated that about 163,000 migrants seek refuge in Sweden and about a million migrants came to Europe to escape the conflict from the Middle East.
Denmark also reinforced identification checks on its borders with Sweden. Although the border control is implemented only temporarily lasting for about 10 days, there is the possibility that it may be extended according to authorities. Lars Lokke Rasmussen, the Prime Minister of Denmark, said that his country was forced to reinstate border controls due to Sweden's decision but he made an appeal to the European Union to come up with a collective border control in order to resolve the torrent of migrants.
Around mid-September, Germany has also imposed border controls specifically in the Austrian border. Other countries in the Schengen area have also temporarily re-introduced their own border controls.
The reinstitution of border controls from various countries will affect about 15,000 commuters who are traveling across countries on a daily basis. Businesses might also be affected since ID controls can prove costly for rail operators, and employees might have a hard time crossing borders in order to work in their respective offices.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
