A bit of good news for a change.

Denmark to reintroduce border controls

(COPENHAGEN) - Denmark will reintroduce controls at its intra-EU borders with Germany and Sweden, Finance Minister Claus Hjort Frederiksen said Wednesday following an agreement between the government and the far-right.

"We have reached agreement on reintroducing customs inspections at Denmark's borders as soon as possible," Hjort Frederiksen told reporters.

The new controls will enter into force within two to three weeks, he said.

Because Denmark is a member of Europe's visa-free Schengen area, it cannot reinstate full frontier controls, and will still follow European Union rules with its current plan to station customs officers permanently at borders to conduct random checks on vehicles.

"Everything will take place within the limits of Schengen," the minister said.

"Over the past few years we have seen an increase in trans-border crime, and this is designed to curb the problem. We will be building new facilities at the Danish-German border, with new electronic equipment and number-plate identifiers," he told a news conference.

The minister added Denmark wanted Danish customs officers to be permanently present at the Oeresund Bridge that links Denmark and Sweden.

The idea of controls at borders within the EU, also defended by Italy and France, was pressed by the far-right Danish People's Party and its head Pia Kjaersgaard, who argued controls would counter illegal immigration and organised crime.

Denmark's decision comes a day ahead of a key meeting in Brussels on Thursday at which EU interior ministers are to debate proposals for restoring temporary border controls within the visa-free zone.

The European Commission proposed last week to introduce a mechanism that would allow states to temporarily reinstate checkpoints during sudden surges in migration or if an EU country fails to control its frontier with non-EU nations.

Denmark thus went ahead with tighter border controls before a possible EU decision on the matter.

"I worked very hard for this," Kjaersgaard said.

Her Danish People's Party has been a key ally of the centre-right government since 2001 and has thanks to its central role obtained major victories in the fields of security and immigration and has contributed to making Denmark's immigration policies among the most restrictive in Europe.

Wednesday's agreement could pass because a Christian Democrat member of parliament also supported the deal, allowing it be backed by a majority of MPs.

The measure, announced ahead of legislative elections to take place in November at the latest, is to cost 150 million kroner (20.1 million euros) to set up and 120 million kroner a year.

http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/denmark-immigration.9wf

Denmark must explain border controls: EC

(BRUSSELS) - The European Commission asked Denmark to explain its decision Wednesday to resume controls at its German and Swedish borders, warning against any challenge to freedom of movement in Europe.

"We asked for a clarification, explanations from Danish authorities regarding this decisions," commission spokeswoman Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen told AFP.

The EU's executive arm, she said, "will not accept any challenge to the principle of freedome of movement of goods and people in the European Union".

Denmark vowed to follow rules under Europe's passport-free Schengen travel area when it sends customs officers permanently at borders to conduct random checks on vehicles.

The new controls will enter into force within two to three weeks, Finance Minister Claus Hjort Frederiksen said following an agreement between the government and the far-right.

The Danish decision came a day before EU interior ministers hold a special meeting in Brussels to discuss the possibility of temporarily restoring border controls within the EU amid fears of a wave of north African migrants.

The European Commission proposed last week to introduce a mechanism that would allow states to temporarily reinstate checkpoints during sudden surges in migration or if an EU country fails to control its frontier with non-EU nations.

http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/denmark-immigration.9wp/