The Fico government has decided: control will remain on the Slovak-Hungarian border

The extension, which is justified by the need to curb illegal migration and has already been renewed several times, is this time for one month, i.e.

will be valid until December 23.

On October 5, Slovakia introduced temporary border controls on the Slovakian-Hungarian border. The decision came a day after the Czech Republic, Austria and Poland introduced similar measures at their Slovak border.

According to the Bratislava government, the purpose of border control in the next period will also be to as few illegal migrants as possible arrive in the country, and filter out factors that potentially threaten public order and state security in this context. Checks are carried out along the entire length of the border.

According to the Slovak Ministry of the Interior, which put forward the proposals, the border controls introduced in October “fulfill the expectations” as the number of illegal migrants trying to cross the border and caught in the process has decreased.

According to the data of Slovak official bodies, the number of illegal migrants arriving in Slovakia via the Western Balkan transit route has already reached 46,000 this year, while last year it was 5,000 during the whole year.

Cover photo: Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico talks to a police officer at the Slovakian section of the Dunacsúny-Rajka highway border crossing on the evening of October 30, 2023. MTI/AP/TASR/Jaroslav Novák