STOCKHOLM (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, the Council of the European Union allowed Austria, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway to extend their internal border checks by six months.
"I have no doubt that border control measures, alongside tightening of immigration policy implemented by the government, have a preventive impact on the flow of migrants, which still stands at low and therefore manageable level," Integration Minister Inger Stojberg was quoted as saying in the press release.
Amid a major influx of migrants to Europe, the number of individuals who applied for asylum in Denmark in 2015 exceeded 21,000. In response to the migrant crisis, Denmark, as well as some other EU countries, toughened its migration laws and temporarily reinstated border controls.
Europe has faced an unprecedented influx of undocumented migrants from the Middle East and North Africa, fleeing their home countries to escape violence and poverty. Many migrants arrive by sea to the shores of maritime states and try to move further to wealthier European countries, such as the United Kingdom, Germany and Sweden.
