Ref. Ares(2019)6921356 - 08/11/2019
12 April 2019
Ministry of Justice
Commissioner for Migration,
Minister for Home Affairs
Home Affairs and Citizenship
Dimitris Avramopoulos
Dear Commissioner,
I would like to inform you that the Swedish government is contemplating a
decision to temporarily reintroduce border control at the Swedish internal
borders. The control would be carried out for six months as from 12 May
2019. Other measures at our disposal have, after detailed consideration, been
deemed insufficient.
The decision would be taken in accordance with article 25 of the Regulation
(EU) no 2016/399 of the European Parliament and of the Council on a
Union Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across borders
(Schengen Borders Code).
The scope of the border control may extend to all internal borders, be it
land, sea or air borders, whereby the specific border sections and border
crossing points would be determined by the Swedish Police Authority,
following a continuous risk analysis. However, the scope would be limited to
what is strictly necessary to respond to the threat to public policy and
internal security and constantly adapted to the relevant circumstances.
The serious threat to public policy and internal security in Sweden remains.
The terrorism threat level in Sweden remains at the current elevated level
(level 3 out of 5) which is the same level as on 7 April 2017 when Stockholm
experienced a terrorist attack. Shortcomings in the protection of the external
borders still persist and contribute to this threat, as they enable potential
terrorists and other criminals to enter the Schengen territory unnoticed.
The reintroduction of border control at the internal border is truly a last
resort. The current Swedish legislation does not allow for police checks on
persons in the border areas in line with the Commission’s Recommendation
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from 12 May 2017. Such measures also seem insufficient compared to the
effect of border checks as part of a reintroduced border control at the
internal border.
Please let me assure you that I do remain committed to the goal of returning
to an area without internal border controls and a well-functioning Schengen
cooperation as soon as the situation allows.
Yours sincerely,
Mikael Damberg
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