Sweden puts crisis agency in charge of refugee admissions

The Swedish government on Thursday ordered the country's crisis authority to coordinate the influx of refugees into the country, local media reported.

The government ordered the police to begin checking foreigners' identification more frequently inside the country and said the Civil Contingencies Agency would organize its response to the refugee crisis, daily newspaper Dagens Nyheter reported.

"We face a serious situation," Interior Minister Anders Ygeman said at a press conference.

"Those who are in Sweden but are not applying for asylum or have had their application rejected risk having to leave the country," he added.

Ygeman ruled out temporary border controls such as those imposed in other EU countries in recent weeks but said the government is "monitoring the situation closely."

EU rules state that countries can only introduce stricter border checks within the free-movement zone if their safety is threatened, the newspaper reported.

Sweden received the highest number of asylum applications per capita out of any EU country in 2014.

The number of lone refugee children entering the country every week reached record levels in August, the country's migration agency reported. Endit