Stockholm, November 13 (RHC)-- Sweden has reinstated temporary border checks in a bid to deal with a record influx of refugees. Swedish officials said on Thursday that a surge in new arrivals is threatening public order in the Nordic country.

The officials insisted, however, that renewing the border checks was just meant for more control on the refugees. "This is not a fence. We need to make sure that we have control ... We have to make sure we know who is coming to Sweden," Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said.

The decision is viewed by some as a major backtrack from previous statements by Sweden promoting open-door policies in the face of a new wave of refugees coming to Europe from Middle East and Africa.

Sweden has resettled more refugees in proportion to its population, 9.8 million, than any other country in Europe, with officials in the government branding the Scandinavian state a "humanitarian superpower."

The country expects a flood of 190,000 asylum seekers this year, more than double it took last year. The spokesman for Sweden's Migration Agency, Mikael Hvinlund, said the decision to reinstate border checks is aimed at improving services provided to the refugees.