Czechia Extends Internal Border Controls with Slovakia
Amid concerns about irregular migration and people smuggling, Czechia has decided to extend its internal border controls with Slovakia for an additional month.
The country’s authorities announced that the border controls with Slovakia will remain in place until February 2. During this time, thorough checks will be carried out to prevent any irregular entries into the country.
Border controls with Slovakia were initially introduced in early October and have been continuously extended since then. According to the Minister of Interior of Czechia, Vit Rakusan, the border controls have proven to be effective, leading to the decision to keep them in place for another month.
Since the introduction of the internal border controls, more than 680,000 checks have been carried out. The border police prevented the entry of over 1,120 irregular migrants and detained 58 people smugglers during the same period.
Czechia is not the only Schengen country currently keeping internal border checks in place. Austria and Germany have also decided to extend their border controls for a longer period of time.
In December of last year, Austria decided to prolong its border controls with Czechia for two months, with the possibility of extending the measure further. The Minister of Interior of Austria, Gerhard Karner, emphasized the importance of border controls in preventing people smuggling and irregular migration.
Germany has decided to keep its internal border controls with Poland, Czechia, and Switzerland in place until March 2024. The German Federal Minister of Interior Nancy Faeser announced that the border controls with the three countries will remain effective until March 15, 2024, as a measure to prevent smuggling and irregular migration.
The movement of around 90 per cent of irregular migrants to the EU is facilitated by smugglers, leading Schengen countries to introduce stricter rules to prevent such entries. In November of last year, the member states of the EU and partner countries formed the Global Alliance to Counter Migrant Smuggling, proposing measures and policies including capacity strengthening for Europol and improved data collection and sharing across countries.
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