The numbers are evidence that checks on the border are needed, Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard said in parliament.

There are “therefore also good reasons for us to continue controls on the Danish-German border,” he said.

Originally introduced as a temporary measure in January 2016 in response to the 2015 refugee crisis in Europe, Denmark has since continually renewed controls on its border with Germany under the rules of the Schengen Agreement.

It recently “reorganised” the border controls to reduce the number of spot checks on cars entering from Germany.

The checks have been criticised in the past for causing congestion and for being a symbolic measure with limited practical implications.

The 11,198 provisional charges are from figures provided by the regional police to Hummelgaard, who was responding to a parliamentary question from the Denmark Democrats party.

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A large number of the charges relate to passport rules and drug intoxication offences.

Newer figures for charges are not available due to a technical issue, but Hummelgaard argued that data from 2021 ad before remains relevant.

“I think most of all that it gives a picture of what types of police business we see at the border,” he said.