Denmark fences itself off from the EU, raising disintegration fears

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Published time: July 05, 2011 04:43
Edited time: July 05, 2011 22:54

Denmark fences itself off from the EU

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Bill Dod, Conflict, EU, Immigration, Irina Galushko, Politics

Denmark is to put the barriers back up on its borders with Germany and Sweden. The move is not going down well with EU colleagues who say it violates Europe's much-heralded open border agreement.

From Tuesday, 50 Danish customs officers will be stationed at the country’s borders to perform spot checks on vehicles. The move is part of a plan approved by parliament last Friday, which also see permanent buildings installed on the borders.

The Danish government insists that the re-establishment of border checkpoints is meant to prevent drug flow and illegal migrants from entering the country. The move is regarded as a bad sign by left-wing politicians and the opposition in Denmark itself, where many are seeing it as a concession to nationalists which may damage the country’s economy.

It has also been strongly opposed by EU officials in Brussels, and especially by Denmark's neighbor Germany. They insist that this is a violation of the Schengen Agreement on open borders in Europe. They also say that this is not at all a wise move to make at a particularly volatile time for the European Union when members states are bickering over border disputes as well as over money issues. Some believe this may even herald the end of a united Europe.

But Danish officials insist that their move will not cause any damage to the free flow of goods, tourists and transportation across the border.

It is not the first time the issue has raised its head in the European Union recently. Earlier this year, France and Italy entered a bitter dispute over the flow of illegal migrants across their borders.

The situation has been aggravated by the extremely volatile situation in North Africa. Most of the migrants who come to Europe and flood countries like Denmark, Belgium, Italy and France are from the northern African region. This latest move by Denmark may send quite worrying signals to other European countries which may decide to follow suit.

Comments (8)

gbrecke 07.07.2011 17:44

@KihnuIt always amazes me how people blame others for their problems. Nearly all countries are divided at this time. Progressives, people on the left believe you can create wealth by printing it or borrowing it. The rest believe we are on the brink of world wide disaster. ;The American Dream? You've got to be kidding! We are a divided nation, currently run by those who think there's no consequences for living beyond our means. We got here the same way Europe got where they are, by raising a crop of fools who will vote for the person who promises the impossible. Wh en you demand entitlements for all, you should expect people to cross your open borders until there is nothing left to give away. We all watched countri es like Greece live the impossible dream. Your Government has underwritten every promise on your back. Even the promises other countries made! Put the blame where it belongs. &n bsp; &nbs p; &n bsp;

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Roberto Arcea 06.07.2011 11:52

>Roberto, I don't think your description of NATO is accurate.

Oh really? My description is surely more accurate than the claim that Denmark is moving out of NAto, made by someone who didn't notice how strongly involved they are in Afghanistan and Lybia.

>Th e northern Europeans are very involved in NATO's agenda..

Uhm, I don't see why this differs from what I said. Some are involved and some are not. Some are EU and some are not. Some are happy to be involved and some are not. UK is involved, Norway is involved, Denmark is involved. They are anti-EU. Sweden isn't involved, Finland isn't involved, Ireland isn't involved, and theya re pro-EU (see that I make my point - EU is a thing, NATO is another).

German y may be involved with NATO because they can't say NO, but they don't participate to many things, like Lybia. Germany is instead the absolute center of the EU since without Germany and France it wouldn't exist. So let me say that my point stands: NATO isn't EU.

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Marzipan6 (unregistered) 06.07.2011 10:51

Larry, I would be very interested in learning of even one example from you of Estonia's alleged anti-Russian hysteria. I read Estonian media regularly in the original language, and I do not encounter radical or rabid anti-Russian expressions. There are no anti-Russian pogroms or riots. Estonia has granted over 152,000 foreigners, mostly Russians, citizenship by naturalization. Non-citizen Russians have exactly the same rights in the country as other non-citizens.

The country's official relations with Russia are proper, even if cool, because Russia chooses not to accept Estonian repeated invitations for closer co-operation. There are many Russian-Estonian intermarriages in the country, and even the President has some Russian heritage. Estonia does insist on acknowledging the historical realities of its experience vis-a-vis Russia, but historical is not hysterical. Furthermore, those realities have always been acknowledged in standard history around the world.

The only elements of hysteria relating to Estonian-Russian relations is the standard tenor of a large part of Russian government media comment on Estonia (for which, I already pointed out, there is no Estonian media equivalent). And the genuinely hysterical reaction across Russia,and by a small (very, very small) minority of Russians in Estonia in 2007, when Estonia relocated a statue celebrating Stalin's occupation of the country to an international military cemetery a few kilometers away, and re-dedicated it as a memorial to all people of all nationalities, Estonians and Russians included, who died in wars on Estonian soil.

If you're going to make radical and sweeping statements, Larry, some factual substantiation would do wonders for your credibility.

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