Borg positive to Danish border controls
Sweden's finance minister, Anders Borg, sees no immediate problems with Denmark's decision to increase border controls between the two countries.
“It is good that Denmark wants to take precautions to ensure we have no drug smuggling, cross-border criminal activity, human trafficking or similar carried out between Demark and Sweden,” said Borg to news agency TT.
On Friday the EU-commission expressed ‘serious doubts’ regarding the new Danish border controls and how they will correspond to EU law, according to Danish news agency Ritzau.
Despite Danish prime minister Lars Lökke Rasmussen speaking to European Commission chairman José Manuel Barroso on the phone on Friday, the former did not manage to pour oil on the troubled waters.
According to spokeswoman for the commission, Danish Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen, the commission has received the first evaluation into the legal implicationsof the proposed scheme.
“It raises serious doubts as to whether it corresponds with European and International law if the scheme is implemented in the intense and extensive way described, “ she said to news agency TT.
But Borg pointed out that it is still not known exactly what it is that the Danes are proposing to do.
“The EU-commission will look into this and ascertain that it doesn’t go against laws on free movement across borders or the positive integration we have in the Öresund-region, “ Borg said to TT.
He thinks that the free movement between Denmark and Sweden is crucial to the region.
“It should be easy to travel over the Öresund-bridge. It should be easy to live and work in Denmark and Sweden,” Borg said on Friday.
The Swedish border controls in the area are working well and are not too much of a hindrance to commuters, according to Borg.
“And of course drug smuggling, human trafficking and cross-border criminal activity are important issues. We believe that the Swedish customs play an important role in combatting these, “ he said to TT.
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“It is good that Denmark wants to take precautions to ensure we have no drug smuggling, cross-border criminal activity, human trafficking or similar carried out between Demark and Sweden,” said Borg to news agency TT.
On Friday the EU-commission expressed ‘serious doubts’ regarding the new Danish border controls and how they will correspond to EU law, according to Danish news agency Ritzau.
Despite Danish prime minister Lars Lökke Rasmussen speaking to European Commission chairman José Manuel Barroso on the phone on Friday, the former did not manage to pour oil on the troubled waters.
According to spokeswoman for the commission, Danish Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen, the commission has received the first evaluation into the legal implicationsof the proposed scheme.
“It raises serious doubts as to whether it corresponds with European and International law if the scheme is implemented in the intense and extensive way described, “ she said to news agency TT.
But Borg pointed out that it is still not known exactly what it is that the Danes are proposing to do.
“The EU-commission will look into this and ascertain that it doesn’t go against laws on free movement across borders or the positive integration we have in the Öresund-region, “ Borg said to TT.
He thinks that the free movement between Denmark and Sweden is crucial to the region.
“It should be easy to travel over the Öresund-bridge. It should be easy to live and work in Denmark and Sweden,” Borg said on Friday.
The Swedish border controls in the area are working well and are not too much of a hindrance to commuters, according to Borg.
“And of course drug smuggling, human trafficking and cross-border criminal activity are important issues. We believe that the Swedish customs play an important role in combatting these, “ he said to TT.
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