Denmark’s government extended by another six months its temporary controls on the Danish border with Germany citing the threat of terrorism.

Denmark and Germany are members of both the European Union and the “borderless” Schengen Area, providing for no border controls under normal circumstances.

However, the Danish government re-introduced border controls back in 2016 as an emergency measure, in the wake of the height of the migrant crisis of 2015 when about 1 million asylum seekers from the Middle East arrived in Germany.

The controls on the Denmark – Germany border in effect consist of more massive police presence and more frequent police checks.

The border from one coast of the Jutland Peninsula to the other, i.e. from the Wadden Sea in the west to the Flensburg Fjord in the east, stretches 68 kilometers (42 miles).

“There is still a serious terror threat against Denmark and a substantial pressure on Europe’s outer borders,” Danish Minister for Immigration and Integration Inger Stojberg said in a statement, as cited by Reuters.

The six-month extension of border controls on the Danish – German border will be as of November 12, 2018, when the temporary measure was supposed to expire.

In August, Denmark’s government announced it had approved a plan to erect a fence on the border with Germany.

The border fence in question is supposed to keep out swine fever. However, critics have argued that is a symbolic gesture epitomizing anti-immigrant sentiments and favoring the populist anti-immigration Danish People’s Party (DPP) which has a solid parliamentary presence.

In the 2015 general elections, the DPP became the second largest party in Denmark winning 21% of the votes and 37 out of 179 parliamentary seats.

DPP’s influence has also been associated with the recent ban of full-face Islamic veils in Denmark.

(Banner image: TV grab from Euronews)