Sweden, a country with one of the most liberal asylum policies in the world, is drastically changing its attitude towards migrants.
Although the country will provide material aid to Greece, it has decided not to accept any refugees from the burned Moria camp or other Greek islands, unlike Germany, which has agreed to take in 1,500. Sweden has thus joined Austria and the Visegrád Four countries of Hungary, Poland, Czechia, and Slovakia, which refuse to accept migrants from the camp, writes Czech news portal Novinky.
It is not clear whether the change of course in asylum policy concerns only the problem of relocating the 12,500 people from the destroyed Greek Moria camp, or whether Sweden is changing its approach to migration in general. The fact is, however, that the topic of migration dominated the 2018 Swedish elections, and Prime Minister Stefan Löfven is now under pressure. As Swedish media points out, his minority government coalition with the Green Party is the weakest in 70 years.
In 2015, Sweden recorded over 160,000 asylum applications, which was the highest number per capita in Europe. Sweden, along with Germany, was one of the most sought-after destinations for refugees. At the time, the country was proud of its liberal approach.
“My Europe does not build walls,” said Prime Minister Stefan Löfven at the time.