MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Sweden has extended photo ID checks on passengers of public transport arriving in the country from Denmark for a further three months, the country's government announced on Wednesday.
"The government has decided that the checks are necessary at present for public order and internal security in Sweden," Infrastructure Minister Anna Johansson said in a government statement, as cited by The Local.
Since January, passengers boarding buses, trains and ferries in Denmark to Sweden have been required to show a passport or other form of valid photo ID. The measure will now last until February 4, 2017.
The ID checks followed the introduction of Swedish border controls in November 2015, which are also set to expire this month.
In 2015 Sweden received about 163,000 asylum seekers. In 2016 the number dropped to about 30,000 requests for asylum.
Europe has been beset by a massive refugee crisis, with hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants from the Middle East and North Africa fleeing their home countries to escape violence and poverty. Many migrants have arrived by sea to the shores of maritime states and try to move further to wealthier European countries, such as Germany and Sweden.
EU border agency Frontex detected over 1.83 million illegal border crossings in 2015.
