Border Denmark | Germany – Froslev | Harrislee
Fifty additional customs agents were deployed, 30 of them on the Danish-German frontier, 10 at ports with ferry service to Germany, and 10 at the Oresund bridge and a ferry dock linking Denmark to Sweden, a Danish customs official said.
The reinforcements come on top of a customs force of about 160, which will grow to 260 by the end of this year.
Denmark’s centre-right ruling coalition, which faces an election this year, agreed with the anti-immigration Danish People’s Party in May to beef up border controls, saying it aimed to keep “brutal crime” out of the country.
The plan drew a warning from the European Commission that Denmark risked breaching the Schengen Treaty governing free movement in Europe’s 25-nation passport-free area, criticism from Germany and from opposition parties at home.
“It certainly isn’t a wish of mine or the city of Flensburg (to have more border checks),” said Simon Faber, mayor of the German border town Flensburg.
“We want more cross-border cooperation and not less,” Faber told Reuters. “However I think that the reality will be less dramatic than the consequences.”
Epic Denmark Culture & Adventure Route © Monika Newbound
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