The Slovak Prime Minister assures that the aim is to prevent the entry of people “connected to terrorism”.
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The new Slovakian government is tightening border controls with Hungary.
Prime Minister Robert Fico’s government warns that irregular migration has increased by 400% and is exceeding the country’s capacity to accept refugees.
Fico argues that irregular migration must be controlled to prevent the entry of people linked to “terrorist” groups.
“If we compare the numbers, 46,000 illegal immigrants entered Slovakia in these ten months of 2023. “They knocked on the door of the nearest police station, where they were handed some papers, violating the law, and then they moved through Slovakia or continued (towards Europe),” the prime minister said at a press conference at the Hungarian Border.
He added: “I greatly appreciate that the Home Office has made it one of its priorities to ensure the existence of all barriers to illegal immigration and therefore welcome with equal satisfaction the news that I will see this afternoon.” Police officers and soldiers who are used in real operations. The Interior Ministry, in cooperation with the armed forces, will station a fairly large force and equipment along essentially the entire green border with Hungary.”
Around 21,500 irregular migrants arrived in Slovakia in September and October alone, almost as many as 24,500 were registered in the rest of the year. According to the police, 97% of them are refugees from Syria.
In addition, Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok expects a new wave of migration as a result of the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas on October 7th.
The sharp increase in migration flows reflects a change in the Balkan route, which after Serbia and Hungary now passes through Slovak territory, from where people try to reach other richer countries in the European Union (EU).
This has led to Poland, Austria and the Czech Republic introducing controls on their borders with Slovakia, despite this contradicting the Schengen area’s rules on the free movement of people and goods.
Slovakia, for its part, was the last country in the region to take such measures, introducing controls along its 655-kilometer border with Hungary earlier this month.