JUDY WOODRUFF: Now to the refugee crisis in Europe, where two more countries have tightened
their borders.
Denmark announced today that it is instituting I.D.
checks on its frontier with Germany, this after Sweden enacted a strict new border policy.
The moves further erode the 20-year old Schengen agreement, which is supposed to guarantee
free movement of people and goods across most of mainland Europe.
From the Danish capital, Copenhagen, special correspondent Malcolm Brabant reports.
MALCOLM BRABANT: Midnight at Copenhagen airport station, the last stop before Sweden, and
security guards began to check the identities of those traveling across the bridge linking
the two countries.
Sweden insisted on new controls, warning transport companies they risked heavy fines if undocumented
travelers were allowed through.
Passengers dismount from Sweden-bound trains to have their papers scanned.
There is a long fence between the tracks to stop people from trying to escape the checks.
ANDREAS, Swedish Tourist: I trust my government.
We have taken a huge responsibility within Europe and with the refugees, so that we cannot
take any more.
ALEX FUNKE, Swedish Tourist: It's a huge backward step, because Sweden is a free country and
everyone should come.
And even if they need help, they should be getting it here or where they can.
MAN: It's just as if you were living in a foreign country now.
Yes, no free movement.
It really two steps backwards.
MALCOLM BRABANT: Precisely 12 hours later, Denmark's prime minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen,
responded by announcing controls along the border with Germany.
The Danish measures will initially be in place for 10 days, but the government warned the
procedures could be extended.
Malcolm Brabant from the "PBS NewsHour," Prime Minister.
Do you think that you are going to contribute to a crisis further down the line in other
countries in the rest of Europe and perhaps beyond?
LARS LOKKE RASMUSSEN, Danish Prime Minister: I think it's pretty obvious that we are in
a situation, if the European Union can't protect the external borders, you will see more and
more countries which will be forced into introducing temporary internal border control.
This is something we need to take very seriously, because it will have a negative impact on
prosperity.
I'm a true believer of the freedom of movement.
This is not a happy moment at all.
We have invested billions in infrastructure between Sweden and Denmark.
We have invested millions in international branding of the greater Copenhagen region.
So, this is a step backwards.
MALCOLM BRABANT: Trine Christensen, a senior official at the human rights group Amnesty
International, is concerned that other nations along the refugee trail back to Greece will
now follow suit at a time when migrants who aren't from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan are
stranded.
TRINE CHRISTENSEN, Amnesty International: What we're seeing today is that Sweden is
desperately trying to get the rest of Europe to actually face up to its responsibilities.
If there is a European response to this crisis, there can be a solution.
There can be at least a way of distributing the burdens and to help people who are in
desperate need of protection.
MALCOLM BRABANT: Christensen is particularly worried about the long-term impact on Turkey,
Lebanon and Jordan, which have taken in many more refugees than the one million or so who
have entered Europe in the past year.
TRINE CHRISTENSEN: If we continue to see what is happening today, and that is the majority
of countries trying to shirk that responsibility, trying to avoid helping, then we will see
a buildup of more and more problems and more and more refugees.
And the pressure on the local areas, on the neighboring countries, which they are not
able to bear in any way, shape or form.
As that happens, and those countries start to implode, that's when we will see a refugee
problem that will make what we have today look like nothing at all.
MALCOLM BRABANT: But the most pressing concern for Michael Randropp is an economic one.
He represents 15,000 people who live and work in the cross-border region and commute between
Denmark and Sweden.
Their lives have suddenly become more complex and disruptive.
MICHAEL RANDROPP, Government Official: Some of the passengers say that this is a new Iron
Curtain.
And other passengers say that this is a new Berlin Wall.
MALCOLM BRABANT: For the past 20 years, businessman Ture Ertmann has lived in Sweden, where homes
and cars are cheaper, and worked in Copenhagen.
But he's now contemplating moving to Denmark.
MAN: Gentlemen, next stop, first stop in Sweden.
In Sweden, we have border control, so please have your passports or other identification
cards ready.
TURE ERTMANN, Businessman: The whole idea of the Schengen is that we have external border
controls.
And now, suddenly, that seems to be breaking down.
And each country is raising the inner borders.
So, suddenly, the whole European community, the whole cooperation across borders seems
to be challenged a lot.
So, that's -- I think that's worrisome.
MALCOLM BRABANT: The impact of the changes is also being felt north of Copenhagen on
the main ferry route lining Denmark and Sweden, which is in competition with the bridge.
The ferry company fears the cost of implementing the new measures will cost at least $3 million
a year.
Chief executive Henrik Rorbaek has complained to the European Union about Sweden's action
and wants Stockholm to pay compensation.
HENRIK RORBAEK, Chief Executive: It means like, for example, if you're in New York,
wants to pass the Brooklyn Bridge, then you have to show an I.D.
I'm quite sure that every American would consider that as a mess.
MALCOLM BRABANT: It's another nail in Schengen's coffin.
LARS LOKKE RASMUSSEN: Hopefully not.
What we need now is European leaders who should respond to this.
We have been pushing and pushing for a European solution.
So, this is a clear signal that your Europe now needs to take decisions which can protect
the external borders.
MALCOLM BRABANT: Denmark's actions have been greeted with disappointment in Germany, which,
along with Sweden, has welcomed most refugees during this crisis.
The German Foreign Ministry spokesman described freedom of movement as the European Union's
greatest achievement, but he warned that the Schengen area was in danger.
He said it was crucial that common solutions were found to the migrant flow.
But throughout this crisis, national interest has taken priority over European unity.
Today's developments reinforce that trend.
For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Malcolm Brabant in Copenhagen.