STOCKHOLM (Sputnik) — According to the minister, stricter control measures allowed to curb the number of arrivals to 16,000 people in the first half of the year.
"Last fall we started checking papers and introduced control on the borders as well as adopted new legislation, all these measures proved to be useful," Johansson said, as quoted by Svenska dagbladet.
Some 10,000 refugees who were denied asylum in Sweden left for other EU countries or returned home, Johansson added.
In November 2015, Stockholm introduced temporary border controls on its borders with neighboring Schengen states to curb immigration into the country amid the European refugee crisis. On June 1, the authorities extended temporary border controls with Denmark and Norway for another 6 months.
