Denmark will start reintroducing customs checkpoints at its borders next week

 after lawmakers approved a government plan to tighten controls in defiance of warnings that the move would violate European Union rules.
The measures, including increased surveillance and random spot checks on vehicles, comes amid growing debate across the EU over the passport-free travel regime that forms a cornerstone of European unity.
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EU leaders last week ordered a review of the Schengen treaty on free movement of people and goods within the EU, in response to calls from some member states for a change in the rules to allow temporary controls on internal borders.
Denmark’s move followed a similar border clamp-down by France in April aimed at stemming the flow of illegal immigrants from Tunisia across its border from Italy.
The Danish government says its measures are aimed at tackling organised crime gangs from eastern Europe more than migrants from north Africa and insists there will be little impact on travellers or freight traffic.
However, the proposals have drawn sharp criticism from Germany and the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, and fed into the broader sense of strain on European unity amid tensions over the eurozone debt crisis.
Denmark’s centre-right government announced the plans last month under pressure from the nationalist Danish People’s party, whose informal support helps keep the minority coalition in power.
A key parliamentary committee approved the proposals on Friday after lawmakers rejected an opposition bid to overturn them.
Up to 50 additional customs officers are expected to be deployed to Denmark’s road crossings into Germany and Sweden starting next week.
The controls, to be introduced over several years, will also include lower speed limits at checkpoints and monitoring equipment to read vehicle registration plates.
Danish business leaders have warned the measures could hurt the economy and opposition parties have vowed to change the plan if they win a looming general election which must take place before November, with polls predicting a tight race.
In a letter to Lars Løkke Rasmussen, Danish prime minister, in June, José Manuel Barroso, European Commission president, raised “important doubts” about the legality of Denmark’s plan and said Brussels would “take all necessary steps” to enforce EU law.
EU leaders last week asked the commission to present proposals by September on how countries could reimpose checks at their borders – raising the prospect of the first tightening of Schengen rules since they were introduced in 1995.