'Deense paspoortcontrole zal geen vertragingen veroorzaken' (en)
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Denmark on Tuesday (5 July) is to deploy 50 customs officials on its borders with Germany and Sweden, but has vowed to respect EU i law and not to cause delays for travellers and lorries.
After angry reactions from Berlin and Brussels to plans of having "permanent border checks" reinstated in Denmark, the Danish Parliament passed a law on Friday approving the phased-in plan which first will deploy 50 customs officials and only at a later stage will have buildings constructed in the border area.
"This is a matter of reinforced customs control where we will go after illegal import of, among other things, narcotics, weapons and large amounts of money, precisely as we do today," tax and customs administration director Erling Andersen said in a statement on Friday.
"There will not be any systematic control of all vehicles and trains that pass the border, and the controls will be carried out with the least possible disturbance to traffic," he pledged.
Largely seen as a sop to the anti-immigrant Danish People's Party whose support was necessary to secure a key reform to the pensions system, the 'permanent customs checks' is still under the scrutiny of the EU commission, which only received the full documentation last week.
Under EU law, Denmark can carry out customs checks as long as they are "random" and based on a risk analysis indicating that illegal goods are being smuggled on certain routes and vehicles.
The German automobile club Adac, which issues travel recommendations for car drivers, told this website that the new measures are not expected to hinder traffic on the German-Danish border.
"Personal vehicles are targeted only in exceptional cases. According to the information we have, only lorries will be subject to stricter customs controls at the Danish border, as the measures are supposed to combat trafficking in illicit goods, not to hamper the free flow of persons across the border," Regina Ammel, spokeswoman for the Adac said.
Bus companies are not too concerned about the measure, either. "Buses are controlled all the time and we always tell our passengers to carry a travel document - passport or ID card - with them," a spokesperson with Eurolines said.
As for lorries, customs checks are part of their daily routine and Denmark is not alone in checking whether the freight does not hide any irregular migrants, says Ellen Troska from Spediteure.de, an information site for German lorry associations.
But the link between irregular migration and cross-border criminality is disturbing for NGOs tackling racism.
"We are deeply concerned by Denmark's decision to reinstate border controls," Michael Privot from the European Network against Racism said.
"The Danish government is giving in to fear and populism and we are worried that this is a sign that migration is increasingly criminalized and seen as a threat rather than an opportunity for a vibrant and prosperous Europe," he said.
German centre-right MEP Manfred Weber also slammed the move as an "unacceptable and an erosion of the freedom of movement," even if the controls are implemented through customs.