Refugee crisis
Police on the Öresund train from Denmark to Sweden. Photo: Stig-Åke Jönsson/TT
Swedish parliament says yes to ID border checks
TT/The Local · 17 Dec 2015, 14:48
Published: 17 Dec 2015 10:45 GMT+01:00
Updated: 17 Dec 2015 14:48 GMT+01:00
Updated: 17 Dec 2015 14:48 GMT+01:00
- Sweden could be lifted from EU refugee duties (15 Dec 15)
- Danish PM slams new Swedish border checks (15 Dec 15)
- Swedish PM 'confident' of refugee opportunities (15 Dec 15)
175 members voted yes, 117 abstained and 39 voted against the new law outlining Sweden's tough new border regime at the famous bridge linking Sweden and Denmark.
It is set to come into force on January 4th and will apply to trains, buses and ferries from abroad, including Germany, but is likely to have the biggest effect on passengers travelling from Denmark.
The plans, which will see public transport companies tasked with implementing the checks, have been criticized by operators and unions warning of travel chaos in the busy commuter region.
"Our members should not carry out jobs that we believe authorities should perform. They have neither the training, nor the authority or competence to execute these kinds of controls," Johan Ingelskog, a spokesperson for trade union Kommunal, told the TT newswire ahead of the debate.
The Moderates, Liberals and Christian Democrats, who had proposed a separate amendment saying the law should apply for six months only as opposed to the planned three years, abstained from voting.
The ruling Social Democrat-Green coalition and the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats voted for the government's proposal, while the Centre Party and Left Party voted against it.
"With this proposal we won't be able to live up to international conventions on the right to asylum. It is extremely serious. We have initiated a closure of borders in the EU," Torbjörn Björlund of the Left Party told his fellow members of parliament during the debate.
Several members of the Green party had been openly critical of the proposed legislation ahead of the vote. However, in the end only one, Rasmus Ling from Malmö, voted against the bill. His colleague Carl Schlyter abstained along with Social Democrat MP Sara Karlsson.
READ ALSO: Why do refugees prefer Sweden to Denmark?
Justice and Migration Minister Morgan Johansson and Infrastructure Minister Anna Johansson. Photo: Claudio Bresciani/TT
More than 150,000 refugees have travelled to Sweden in the past year, which has struggled to find accommodation for the new arrivals. The government's justice and migration minister, Morgan Johansson, told the Aftonbladet tabloid that he saw no cause to celebrate winning the vote.
It is set to come into force on January 4th and will apply to trains, buses and ferries from abroad, including Germany, but is likely to have the biggest effect on passengers travelling from Denmark.
The plans, which will see public transport companies tasked with implementing the checks, have been criticized by operators and unions warning of travel chaos in the busy commuter region.
"Our members should not carry out jobs that we believe authorities should perform. They have neither the training, nor the authority or competence to execute these kinds of controls," Johan Ingelskog, a spokesperson for trade union Kommunal, told the TT newswire ahead of the debate.
The Moderates, Liberals and Christian Democrats, who had proposed a separate amendment saying the law should apply for six months only as opposed to the planned three years, abstained from voting.
The ruling Social Democrat-Green coalition and the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats voted for the government's proposal, while the Centre Party and Left Party voted against it.
"With this proposal we won't be able to live up to international conventions on the right to asylum. It is extremely serious. We have initiated a closure of borders in the EU," Torbjörn Björlund of the Left Party told his fellow members of parliament during the debate.
Several members of the Green party had been openly critical of the proposed legislation ahead of the vote. However, in the end only one, Rasmus Ling from Malmö, voted against the bill. His colleague Carl Schlyter abstained along with Social Democrat MP Sara Karlsson.
READ ALSO: Why do refugees prefer Sweden to Denmark?
Justice and Migration Minister Morgan Johansson and Infrastructure Minister Anna Johansson. Photo: Claudio Bresciani/TT
More than 150,000 refugees have travelled to Sweden in the past year, which has struggled to find accommodation for the new arrivals. The government's justice and migration minister, Morgan Johansson, told the Aftonbladet tabloid that he saw no cause to celebrate winning the vote.
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