Tolerant Nordic Countries Catch Eastern European Anti-Migrant Bug

Concern over the numbers of refugees arriving in Eastern Europe is spreading north. First Denmark announced a renege on its promise to resettle 1,000 refugees and then Norway announced it would increase border controls. Now Sweden is introducing tough new laws to deter asylum seekers from coming to the country in the first place.

Sweden had previously said it would do all it could to help people from the Middle East and Africa fleeing conflict, now it intends to only offer resettlement to refugees according to the minimum level required by the European Union.

In order to do this, Sweden has amended its Aliens Act to only offer the number of temporary residence permits to asylum seekers that it is obliged to for the next three years, according to EU rules and United Nations conventions.

ID checks will be implemented on all of Sweden's public transport systems, including ferries; the right to reunite with family members will be subject to a strict time limit and ages of unaccompanied children will have to be verified by medics.

The toughened stance on asylum seekers announced by Sweden could see people turned away at its borders.

Police organize the line of refugees at on the stairway leading up from the trains arriving from Denmark at the Hyllie train station outside Malmo, Sweden, November 19, 2015.

© REUTERS / Johan Nilsson

Denmark has refused to voluntarily rehouse 1,000 refugees, citing a failure to implement proper systems in Greece and Italy as a reason for backtracking on its promise.

Following Sweden's stricter rules, Norway is set to increase border controls and checks on ferry arrivals from Sweden, Denmark and Germany.

Sweden's Interior Minister Anders Ygeman, announcing Wednesday Nov. 11, 2015 in Stockholm, that the government will impose temporary border controls as the Nordic country struggles to receive tens of thousands of refugees

© AP Photo / Henrik Montgomery/TT via AP

The country's Prime Minister Erna Solberg told broadcaster NRK:

"We are implementing border controls at all ferry points. That means that people will have to document who they are when they come.

"What Sweden is now threatening will quickly have repercussions for Norway and therefore, I have asked the justice minister to begin initiatives", Solberg said, who suggested stricter border check in Sweden could lead to a new influx point with more people coming to Norway on boats from Germany and Denmark.

A few countries take in the majority of #refugees, and it is proving unsustainable. New solutions urgently needed! https://t.co/cs3wMrXGLn

— Refugee Nation (@RefugeeNation) November 9, 2015​

The EU has still failed to agree and implement an agreement on how to resettle the numbers of people entering Europe, while thousands continue to arrive every day. Eastern European countries have taken matters into their own hands by building unofficial metal fences on their borders, stopping refugees in their tracks and leaving them stranded in no-man's land.

Northern European countries condemned the decision by Hungary to build a razor wire fence which prompted Croatia and Serbia to follow suit. But the anti-refugee sentiment, whether driven by fear or intolerance appears to be trickling through the rest of Europe and into Nordic countries.