Sweden ends bridge ID checks

On May 2, Sweden ended ID checks for people entering the country on the Öresund Bridge, which connects Malmø, Sweden, and Copenhagen, Denmark. Up to 20,000 people cross the bridge each day.

The ID checks were initiated on Jan. 4, 2016, when Sweden temporarily suspended its participation in the Schengen Area Agreement, which calls for free movement across borders of member countries, in order to stem the flow of asylum-seekers into the country. More than 163,000 people sought asylum in Sweden in 2015. That number dropped to 29,000 in 2016.