Sweden to introduce more ID checks next year

Swedish authorities will begin to check identification cards more frequently starting in January as the government continues to pursue a reduction in the number of incoming asylum seekers, local media reported on Wednesday.

The Swedish parliament passed a government proposal that requires adult train, bus and ferry passengers to show ID cards for the coming three years, public broadcaster Swedish Television reported.

The Social Democrats, the larger member of the country's two-party government coalition, argued that the ID checks were a means of stemming the flow of asylum seekers into the country in order to safeguard its welfare system.

"During the fall, it became increasingly obvious that our systems were being pressed to the limit. We can handle it in the short term, but not in the long run," Justice Minister Morgan Johansson told Swedish Television.

Meanwhile, Torbjorn Bjornlund of the Left Party, which voted against the proposal, said "Sweden is sending signals that it is OK to encourage xenophobia, and OK to stop people who need help."

Three of the center-right opposition parties abstained from voting while the opposition Center Party voted against the new law. Endit