Austria has decided to extend its internal border controls with Slovakia, initially introduced on October 4, 2023, until November 23.
Announcing the news, the Austrian Ministry of Interior said that the decision to extend the border controls with Slovakia was taken with the aim of combating human trafficking and irregular migration, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
As the authorities reveal, since the introduction of internal border controls with Slovakia, the Austrian police arrested 19 people smugglers.
Moreover, during the same period, the police stopped around 180 people who had entered Asutria irregularly.
Commenting on the extension of border controls and the number of people arrested and stopped, the Minister of Interior of Austria, Gerhard Karner, said the country needs to continue keeping strict measures that prevent people smuggling.
Minister Karner also stressed that in order to prevent irregular entries into the country, the police need to be faster than the smugglers.
The police have to be faster than the smugglers. That’s why we have started checking border points before the smugglers change their routes. The numerous arrests show that the fight against these criminals is successful.
In addition to prolonging the border checks with Slovakia, the Ministry of Interior notes that the police also carry out checks on the border with Hungary and Slovenia in cooperation with the Federal Army. Moreover, Austria has also strengthened border surveillance with Italy.
Austria is not the only European Union country that decided to prolong border controls with Slovakia.
Earlier this month, Czechia and Poland also decided to extend their internal border controls with Slovakia until November 22.
The countries said that this measure, which was first introduced on October 4 amid an increase in irregular migrants, needs to remain in force until the end of the month so that the authorities can prevent the entry of those who do not hold the necessary documents.
While the authorities of both countries noted that controls will remain in place until November 22, the Ministry of Interior of Czechia highlighted that the country might decide to prolong the measure, depending on the situation.
Poland might also extend the measure once again, as according to the authorities, the country is being seriously threatened by irregular migration.
Several other EU countries have also introduced measures. Slovenia currently has border checks with Croatia and Hungary. The measures are set to last until November 19.
Moreover, Denmark also has border checks with Germany in place. The Ministry of Justice of Hungary just recently announced that the measures will be prolonged for another six months.