Austria will introduce border controls on the border with Slovakia

Austria will introduce temporary border controls on the border with Slovakia, said the country’s Interior Minister Gerhard Karner. writes ORF TV channel.

Border controls are being introduced for ten days and will begin at midnight, Carner said. According to him, this is necessary in order to prevent smugglers from using alternative routes through Austria.

Previously about a similar mode announced Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration of Poland Mariusz Kaminski. He explained the need for border control by the growing number of illegal migrants on the Balkan route – from Poland to Germany.

Then the head of the Czech Ministry of Internal Affairs, Vit Rakušan, reported on X (formerly Twitter) that the republic was also introducing controls on the border with Slovakia. He stressed that the measures are necessary “to effectively combat groups of organizers of illegal crossings and illegal migration.” The Czech Republic will conduct random checks along the entire length of the border. Rakushan explained that this step was agreed upon with Poland. He later clarified that a large number of migrants is not a reason for border controls. According to the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Czech Republic is introducing checks because of Poland’s decision to prevent the potential migration flow from moving into the republic.

All four countries – Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria and Slovakia – are part of the Schengen zone. Because of this, there are no standard border controls at the border between the two countries.