In order to further strengthen cooperation with Sweden, Norway unfolded plans for constructing a joint Norwegian-Swedish police station on the border between Norway and Sweden that will soon begin.
Through a statement, the Ministry of Justice and Public Security said that organised crime across national borders is a major threat, considering the establishment of a joint police station with Sweden in Magnormoen, the largest border crossing, an important measure to further strengthen cooperation between both territories.
Norway’s Justice and Emergency Services Minister Emilie Enger Mehl (Sp) said that the country is taking several measures to stop the criminal gangs.
I am going to commission Statsbygg to put the shovel in the ground at Magnormoen as soon as possible.
Once the new building is finished, Swedish and Norwegian police will move in together.
Half of the station will be in Norway and half in Sweden. The large, open office and communal area will be located in both countries, with the boundary line in the middle. This means that the Norwegian and Swedish police can work smarter and closer together in the fight against cross-border crime.
Norway’s government established a temporary duty station on the Norwegian side of the frontier at Magnormoen in 2022, while in the spring of this year, both countries’ governments installed a new scanner in order to strengthen border control at Mangormoen.
As part of efforts to halt irregular migration, several European countries have decided to tighten border controls, with Italy and Slovenia becoming the latest countries to introduce such a decision.
The Italian government announced the initiation of border controls from October 21, which were set to be kept in place until October 30, using an urgent procedure under Article 28 of the Schengen Border Code.
A similar measure was also announced by authorities in Ljubljana, according to which controls would be reintroduced at the borders with Croatia and Hungary.
There is a need for immediate action to ensure public order and security of our citizens as well as the citizens of the European Union.
Emphasising that reimposing such measures is not a sign of mistrust between bloc’s countries but a changed security context in Europe following wars and instability in the eastern and southern neighbourhood, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic also confirmed the initiation of frontier checks with Slovenia, thus joining the list of other Schengen Zone countries with similar decisions.
