Danish ferry company reports Sweden to EU over ID checks

A Danish ferry company said Tuesday it had reported Sweden to the EU for unfair competition after being required to pay for identity checks on passengers being launched in the face of a huge influx of migrants.

HH Ferries Group, which operates the short link between Helsingor in Denmark and Helsingborg in Sweden, filed the complaint to the European Commission on Monday.

It argues that the consortium operating the Oresund Bridge which connects the Danish capital Copenhagen and Sweden's third city Malmo, was given special treatment because it was not required to help fund the measures.

The ID checks, set to start on January 4, have been decided on by the Swedish government, which wants to stem the unprecedented influx of migrants transiting through Denmark.

HH Ferries chief executive Henrik Rorbaek said the checks would cost his company 100,000 kroner (13,400 euros) a day but would cost nothing for the Oresund Bridge consortium, a major competitor that is a joint venture partly owned by the Swedish government.

"I want to be clear: we are not against immigration control, but we are of the opinion that the implementation of this control sets up an unfair relationship and violates rules of competition," Rorbaek told AFP.

The migration crisis has been a major point of contention between the two neighbours.

Sweden, a country of 9.8 million people, has taken in more than 160,000 asylum seekers this year, the highest number of refugees per capita in the EU.

Denmark has long had a policy aimed at deterring refugees to settle in this country, including controversial proposals such as a plan to seize migrants' cash and valuables upon arrival to pay for their stay.

Denmark has taken only about 18,000 asylum applications this year.

The ID checks are expected to have a huge impact on trips between Denmark and Sweden, especially on the 8,600 daily commuters between Copenhagen and Malmo.

Danish train company DSB threatened Monday to levy a supplementary charge on passengers crossing the strait in order to cover the costs of the checks.
Source :AFP