Czech and Slovak PMs agree on closer police cooperation at border

Czech and Slovak Prime Ministers Petr Fiala and Eduard Heger agreed during their meeting on Thursday evening that the Czech and Slovak police will work together more closely to make the border accessible to citizens and freight and bus transport. Further details of the agreed police cooperation should be announced on Friday.

The meeting between the Czech and Slovak PMs, which was also attended by the Czech and Slovak interior ministers and police chiefs, took place in Kramář's Villa, the official residence of the Prime Minister in Prague, and lasted approximately 1.5 hours.

Checks at Slovakia and Czechia's mutual border were introduced at the end of September by the Czech Republic due to large numbers of migrants, mainly from Syria, passing through Slovakia and the Czech Republic on their way to Germany. Slovakia has repeatly expressed dissatisfaction with this arrangement, saying it violates Schengen rules. Before Thursday's meeting, the Slovak police chief stated that the Czech measures at the border are not effective, and that 2,800 migrants returned to Slovakia by Czechia ended up in the Czech Republic anyway.

Mr. Fiala emphasised that Czechia had to react to the situation and did so reluctantly. According to him, the measure is working, but he welcomed the opportunity to discuss the situation.