Sweden announces temporary border checks

(Vatican Radio) Sweden has announced the introduction of temporary border checks to control the flow of migrants into the country. It said it took the step because a surge in new arrivals had resulted in a threat to public order.

Listen to Matthew French’s report:

Since noon on Thursday, police have required travellers going between Denmark and Sweden to have passports and or ID cards.

The tighter controls will take place for the next 10 days around Sweden's southern and western border, according to the head of the Swedish border police, who added they may be extended for a longer period of time.

A lot of people commute between Sweden and Denmark for work by train and the random identity checks are being carried out before the trains arrive in Sweden, and those without a valid ID are escorted off the train for further investigation.

Until today it has been common for people to travel between Sweden, Finland, and Denmark without the need to carry identification provided they are not flying.

At a press conference today the head of the Swedish border police said "People who want to travel to Sweden need to show that they have the right to enter Sweden, either they have a residency permit, or are a citizen of a Schengen country or one that doesn't need a visa to enter. If they can't demonstrate that, they can apply for asylum if they want. They will then be subject to a review by the Migration Agency."

Speaking at the Malta talks Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven spoke of the need for the whole European Union to come up with a new system to handle immigration.

Swedish Interior Minister Anders Ygeman said the centre-left government had acted "in order to obtain security and stability... not to limit the number of asylum seekers, but to get better control of the flow of asylum seekers to Sweden".

Nearly 200,000 migrants are expected to arrive in Sweden this year, more per head of population than any other EU nation.

The re-imposed border controls will not affect people's right to seek asylum in Sweden according to police.