When internal border controls were introduced by the Schengen states, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany and Austria in 2015 was the reason a surprising and extensive migrantström.
today, The number of asylum-seekers back at levels that prevailed before the end of 2015 – or lower – but there is nothing to suggest that they returned the checkpoint is soon to disappear. On Saturday extended the additional six months in all the countries concerned.
France has also scored the go-ahead from the EU to maintain border controls with other Schengen, but which is the main motive of terrorist threats.
the mention of the now terrorist threats as a reason to have left the controls, on the side of ”threat to public order and internal security in Sweden” and the lack of external border controls.
” Yes, it is a completely different situation when it comes to migration to Sweden now, and it is positive. We shall not be back to the situation by 2015, ” says interior minister Mikael Damberg.
” But terrorhotnivån has not fallen, and we do not believe that the external borders are checked in the manner that shall be made, and the assessment we make along with several other countries. We believe that everyone travelling into the Schengen area must be inspected and rejected if you do not have the right to enter.
Mikael Damberg develops the subject on the continuing threat of terrorism:
” the Situation is still uncertain in Afghanistan, in Lebanon and in the large refugee camps. And it collapsed ICE-the caliphate creates a completely new situation where we have potential terrorists who can move to Europe.
According to the Democrats denied each month several hundred people entry into Sweden because they lack permission to be here.
” It says something about the system as a whole still doesn’t really work.
” No, but then we also had a disastrous situation for Sweden and Europe. To say that it is not worse than then is not an argument. We should have a schengen area that works.
the minister of the Interior highlights a further argument in favour of continued border controls that have not been emphasised as much in the past, namely to prevent crime.
” We have seen that, for example, the international stöldligorna have been much more difficult to operate when the police had control of the Öresund bridge. It has had an effect on the number of burglaries in the south of Sweden.
” I don’t like to set them against each other. I am definitely in favour of international cooperation. Sweden is a driving force in Europol (police cooperation) and Eurojust (the åklagarsamarbete). We see that the organized crime in Sweden often have an international dimension. Over half of all villainbrott made by the international stöldligor.
– It becomes more difficult. Villainbrotten goes down. I think it is clear that the internal controls have an effect when it comes to brottsprevention.
According to the national Crime prevention council statistics have villainbrotten much really decreased, primarily after 2017. However, the proportion of households who have been victims of housebreaking went up after 2015.
Photo: Lisa Mattisson
irritation of the controls did Öresundspendlares everyday life more difficult and to cross-border trade slowed down. Since the id-controls (a complement to the checkpoint) was removed in 2017, shot control, however, smoother.
Mikael Damberg open for further technical simplifications. He will soon travel to the Netherlands to take a closer look at a system for video surveillance in the border areas.
With the help of the system, called Amigo-bora, random checks are made in a two-mile-wide zone along the borders with Belgium and Germany. The cameras, for example, can identify license plates.
This can be one schengen country do without to request the EUROPEAN commission’s permission for temporary internal border controls.
“It’s an exciting example,” says Damberg.
” I understand the question, but if we look at that we deny several hundred people entry to Sweden every month so have internal border controls de facto had the effect.
– One important issue is that border controls do not prevent anyone to seek asylum. You always have the right to get redress.
” No, I think that Schengen will reappear, but in a new and better form. The external controls are tightened. Frontex (the EU border control, red:s note) is growing with thousands of employees and there will be new technical control solutions and the transfer of information between the countries.
– Before Schengen has matured, I don’t believe that a Swedish government will remove internal border controls, says Mikael Damberg.
– Only build the technical systems of information exchange and checking of fingerprints take several years. However, we see that the right decision has been made, and new will.
” There was an optimistic view that the Schengen area de facto had an external border controls, but it became clear that it had not. Several countries maintained their internal limit and did not follow the migrationsregler who said that it would consider asylum in the first country of asylum. All this taken together created an unreasonable situation.
