Sweden until November 11 introduces selective control at a number of airports and ports of the country. The reason for this decision is a change in the spectrum of possible threats, the border service said. Sweden intends to expand control over its own borders. The reason for this decision is a change in the spectrum of possible threats, representatives of the border service said on Friday, June 29.
In particular, before November 11, selective control is introduced at the airports of Stockholm, Malmo and Gothenburg, as well as in Swedish ports.
At the same time, the influx of refugees into Sweden continues. According to Sydsvenskan, in the southern province of Skane, border guards detain migrants from Syria and Iraq almost every week.
Sweden introduced control of its own borders in the fall of 2015. Similar control in the European Union is also exercised by Austria, Germany, Denmark, France and Norway, which is not a member of the EU, but is a member of the Schengen area. The authorities of these countries explain this step by the desire to guarantee security against the backdrop of the migration crisis.
The Government of Germany named the number of Islamists who left for Syria
More than one thousand jihadists left Germany for Syria and Iraq. More than half of them have German citizenship, it follows from the government’s response to the request of the parliamentary faction of the Left Party. The German government is aware of more than one thousand jihadists who left Germany for Syria and Iraq to support terrorist groups. More than half of them have German citizenship. This is stated in the government’s official response to the request of the Left Party faction in the Bundestag, the Funke media group reported on Sunday, May 20.
These figures mean that the number of people who left the Federal Republic of Germany for the war zones has increased again, but significantly less than two years ago. It also follows from the report that since 2013, 243 supporters of the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) and Kurdish Self-Defense Forces (PYD) have left Germany to support the international coalition fighting the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group.
The PKK itself is also considered a terrorist organization in Germany.
Deprive jihadists of citizenship
Dozens of German Islamists are in custody in Syria, Iraq and Turkey. Many others, including women walking, have already returned to Germany. During the formation of the new German government after the 2017 parliamentary elections, the block of conservative CDU / CSU parties and the Social Democrats in a coalition agreement recorded that dual-citizens jihadists traveling to hot spots should lose Germany’s citizenship if it is proved that they participated in hostilities on the side of the terrorist group.
Left-party domestic policy expert Ulla Jelpke, however, believes this is against the constitution. She also noted that according to this logic, those Germans who fought against the Islamic State on the side of the Kurds would have to be punished.
Representatives of the SPD are critical of depriving jihadists of German citizenship. “This is more a symbol than a sensible policy,” said SPL domestic affairs expert Uli Grötsch, adding that emphasis should be placed on prosecuting those responsible and de-radicalizing the Islamists.
At the same time, CDU domestic policy expert Armin Schuster pointed out that a jihadist who was deprived of German citizenship could be stopped at the border when trying to get into the country.
Merkel calls for action because of Iran’s “aggressive trends”
European states share concerns about Iran’s ballistic missile program and call for action because of its “aggressive trends” in the Middle East.
This was stated by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
“Iran’s aggressive tendencies need not only to be discussed, but also necessary decisions urgently needed,” she said after meeting with King of Jordan Abdullah.
Merkel noted that Europe is concerned about the presence of Tehran in Syria and its role in the war in Yemen.
Abdullah said that there can be no peace in the Middle East without a Palestinian state with a capital in Jerusalem.
The United States is preparing a new peace plan, which has not yet been made public, but has already outraged the Palestinians: the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
The European states that signed the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran still support it. Iran says the issue of ballistic missiles and its participation in wars in the Middle East is not negotiable.
By agreement with the United States, France, Germany, Great Britain, Russia and China, Iran strictly limited its uranium enrichment capacity to assure the state that it was not used to develop nuclear bombs.
In exchange, Iran received a relaxation of sanctions, most of which were lifted in January 2016.
Washington announced the US withdrawal from the agreement. Subsequently, the United States expanded personal sanctions against Iran. Iran has decided to resume uranium enrichment on a large scale.
