Denmark and Sweden step up border controls

Sweden and Denmark have stepped up border controls in an attempt to stem the flow of refugees arriving in the countries.

The AFP reports that Danish prime minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said that Denmark had stepped up border controls with Germany.

Earlier reports say that Sweden has also introduced identity checks for travellers from Denmark, so that all travellers wanting to cross the Oresund bridge by train or bus, or ferry services, will be refused entry without the necessary documents.

The BBC reports that rail commuters heading to Sweden will now have to change trains at Copenhagen Airport and go through ID checkpoints. An estimated 20,000 commuters daily cross the Oresund bridge, which connects the Swedish cities of Malmo and Lund with the Danish capital, Copenhagen.

Sweden received more than 150,000 asylum applications in 2015.

In December, Danish integration Minister Inger Stoejberg put forward a bill to allow police to seize valuables belonging to refugees to make them pay for housing, healthcare and some education.

The BBC reports that Denmark has received around 20,000 asylum seekers in 2015, and that it expects some 25,000 next year.