Sweden Prolongs Internal Border Controls for 6 More Months
Sweden will continue to carry out border checks on travellers entering its territory from other Schengen Area countries, for at least another six more months, until May 11, 2023. The same were set to expire today, on November 11.
The decision has been announced by the Swedish Ministry of Justice, through a press release issued on November 10, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
According to the press release, the decision to extend border controls has been taken upon an assessment of the government that there is still a serious threat to the internal security of Sweden due to the Russian invasion, smuggling and human trafficking.
“The Russian invasion of Ukraine has, in addition to the human suffering that the war has brought with it, also created an extremely serious security situation in Europe. Since the Russian mobilization order, a large number of Russian citizens have left the country and applied to the EU. The risk of arms smuggling and human trafficking carried out by criminal networks exploiting the war is heightened,” the Ministry points out in its press release.
It further notes that Sweden remains a target country for migrants who are reaching Europe through the Western Balkans route, reiterating that the country’s government asserts that border controls remain the sole available measure to address this threat, and the others.
Sweden has thus entered in its eighth year of border controls being in force since they were first introduced at the end of 2015, when hundreds of thousands of migrants, mainly from the Middle East, reached Europe.
In late October this year, SchengenVisaInfo.com reported that Denmark would also extend its internal border controls with Germany, for the eighth year in a row. Other countries have also been holding similar controls in place for years now. The same were set to expire on November 12, 2022.
The prolongation of border controls followed an analysis by the Danish Center for Terrorism asserting that the number of refugees reaching Denmark from Ukraine increases the chances that people who are a threat to the territory of Denmark, and its citizens, may have it easier to enter the country.
According to the press release of Sweden’s Ministry of Justice, the decision to extend controls at internal borders is in common with the EU border rules, pointing out that several other Schengen countries, like Austria, Norway and Denmark, have also temporarily reintroduced internal border controls, which they intend to keep in place for security reasons.
>> New Rules on Reintroduction of Schengen Internal Border Checks
