Austria, the Czech Republic, and Poland have announced an extension of border checks. These checks were initially put in place to control migration through Slovakia.

The extension will last until November 2nd.

Slovakia is experiencing an increase in migrants and asylum seekers arriving from Serbia through Hungary, with their final destination being wealthier Western European countries. Austria, the Czech Republic, and Poland initially implemented border checks on October 4th, intending them to be in place for just 10 days.

Poland’s Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski announced the extension of border checks until November 2. Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakusan mentioned that from October 4 to 9, they checked 43,749 people and found 283 undocumented migrants, leading to the detention and charging of 12 smugglers. Austria’s interior ministry is also extending its checks to prevent evasive smuggling through their country until November 2. Slovakia has seen a significant increase in undocumented migrants, detecting around 24,500 from January to August compared to 10,900 in the entire previous year. They began border checks on the Hungarian border on October 5 in response to measures taken by Prague, Vienna, and Warsaw the day before.

Slovakia is deploying 300 soldiers daily on its border with Hungary and extending border checks until November 3rd due to an increase in migrants. Germany has tightened checks on its eastern border with the Czech Republic and Poland, with the possibility of further controls on the Polish and Czech borders. All these countries are part of the EU and Schengen zone. Reintroducing border checks in the Schengen Area is allowed in exceptional circumstances, with Brussels notification required.

In addition, Poland is planning to announce its measures to the European Commission, aiming to prevent illegal migration routes.