Sweden petitions to close Danish bridge due to Europe refugee crisis
The Swedish government is drafting a proposal that will allow the country to close the Oresund Bridge amid Europe's ongoing refugee crisis.
The proposal, yet to pass parliament, will petition to close the channel between Denmark that sees 20,000 commuters a day. It links Sweden’s third largest city Malmö with Denmark’s capital, Copenhagen.
According to the Swedish government, temporary closure of the bridge will allow additional measures to be put in place to combat public order risks as a result of the large influx of asylum seekers.
If passed, the legislation will allow authorities to close the bridge without seeking permission from parliament. Trains would still run across the bridge but wait times would double from 30 minutes to an hour, due to ID check enforcements.
Authorities will also be allowed to carry out checks on bus, train and ferry services.
“Our intent and our hope is that we will not have to use this legal possibility,” defence minister Anna Johansson told local news agency TT.
The proposal comes off the back of the large influx of refugees into Sweden in 2015. The country has accepted over 140,000 refugees since January, a number expected to reach 190,000 by the end of the year, according to the country’s migration service.
In November, Sweden was forced to enlist the service of its military to manage the migrant crisis.
The country has also sent refugees to arctic ski camps and Wild West theme parks after its shelters reached full capacity.
Enquiries were even made to house refugees at a Royal Palace in Stockholm, but were swiftly knocked down by a spokesperson from the Swedish royal family.
“No, it is not happening,” the spokesperson said. “It is not an empty castle that can take in refugees.”
Sweden’s proposal comes in unity with 26 other EU members after France demanded stricter ID and border checks, following a September border breach in Greece that allowed hundreds of thousands of migrants to enter the EU.
Meanwhile, Germany is expected to reach its shelter limits after becoming the largest European recipient of migrant refugees, receiving more than 173,000 applications for asylum in 2014.
Sweden is now unable to provide shelter to migrants applying for asylum, but the Swedish Migration Agency says the country will continue creating more accommodation centres, since pledging to the United Nations that it will give Permament Residency status to any Syrian refugee whom reaches the country.
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