Border control

Under Lock and Key: Sweden, Denmark Prolong Border Controls, Vex Locals

Still distressed by the aftershocks of last year's unprecedented refugee influx, Sweden decided to extend its border controls until November 2016 in an effort to keep the number of asylum applications down from 163,000. This measure, however, may prove a disastrous blow for the whole transnational Øresund Region.

The controls were first introduced in November 2015 and are now expected to run until at least November. Sweden's southern neighbor Denmark has opted to extend its own controls likewise.

"The EU has recognized Sweden's need for border controls," Interior Minister Anders Ygeman told public service broadcaster SVT.

The number of people seeking asylum in Sweden has reportedly dropped significantly since the border controls and ID checks were introduced. At present, Sweden takes in an average of under 500 asylum seekers a week, as opposed to almost 10,000 a week during the most hectic months of last autumn.