Smuggling of illegal migrants along the Western Balkans route fluctuates throughout the year and countries that serve as transit countries to the final destination – Germany – react in unison depending on the severity of the problem . Last year, Czechia introduced spot border checks at the end of September and they lasted until the beginning of February.
This year, they were introduced on October 4 – along with other states in the region – for an initial period of 10 days. On Wednesday, Interior Minister Vít Rakušan announced that they would remain in place for the time being.
“The Czech government has decided to maintain spot checks at the border with Slovakia for another 20 days. This is in line with decisions taken by the Polish, Austrian and Slovak governments, which also extended random checks for the same period. They will remain in place until November 2.
The Schengen Borders Code allows member states to temporarily introduce border controls in the event of a serious threat to internal security. However, the scope and duration of border control should be limited to the strict minimum necessary to respond to the threat in question.
This explains why border controls introduced by Schengen member states are introduced for a short period and revised according to circumstances. Their introduction inevitably has a domino effect: countries on the migratory route must consult each other and coordinate their actions.
The Czech Interior Ministry deployed 130 officers to carry out this task on the country’s eastern border with Slovakia. Minister Rakušan said the checks had yielded results.
“Over the past week, almost 44,000 people have been screened. Police apprehended 283 illegal migrants and arrested 12 smugglers who were charged with a criminal offense.
The police can check anyone, so the Interior Ministry recommends that people traveling near the border carry an ID card or passport and be prepared to possible inspections.
It is unclear whether the measures will be extended after November 2. As well as being disruptive, they are expensive – the cost of the checks from October 4 to November 2 will amount to 53.4 million crowns – and all countries implementing these measures would prefer a comprehensive solution.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said last week that the current European migration policy is clearly not enough and that bolder measures are needed to solve the growing problem of illegal immigration in Europe.