According to the Minister of Interior of Czechia, Vit Rakusan, the border controls with Slovakia will remain in place until January 3, 2024.
Commenting on the extension of the measure, Minister Rakusan said that by keeping stricter rules in place, the country wants to combat irregular migration into Czechia.
He further stressed that border controls are necessary as there is a lack of common EU policies aimed at guarding the external borders of the EU and dealing with migration, Reuters explains.
In addition, Minister Rakusan said that it only makes sense for Czechia to keep border controls in place as long as the neighbouring countries do the same.
If neighbouring countries have an interest in keeping these controls, I cannot imagine that we would be the only country to cancel them.
Czechia initially introduced internal border controls with Slovakia on October 4 after an increase in irregular border crossings and in an attempt to put an end to people smuggling activities.
Since then, the country has continuously extended the measures and has stressed that apart from the Czech-Slovak border, random checks will also be carried out along the whole border section.
Random checks will be carried out along the whole section of internal borders with Slovakia in a flexible manner and with limited negative impact on the flow of cross-border traffic.
Poland has also extended its internal border controls with Slovakia. However, unlike Czechia, Poland has extended the measures for a period of 11 days until December 3.
The extension of the border measure with Slovakia was signed by the Minister of Interior of Poland, Mariusz Kaminski.
According to the Polish authorities, the measure has been extended amid an increase in irregular migrants trying to cross the border.
Just like Czechia, Poland also initially introduced its border controls with Slovakia on October 4 and has been extending them since then.
Several other Schengen Member States currently have internal border controls in place, including Austria, Germany, and Slovenia, among many others.
Slovakia has also just recently updated its measures. Earlier this week, the country decided to extend the border control with Hungary until December 23. The measure was taken in response to increased irregular migration along the Western Balkan route.
