Interior Minister: checks on Slovak border will probably continue beyond October 28

Checks on the border between Czechia and Slovakia will probably continue even after the previously specified deadline of October 28, Interior Minister Vít Rakušan said on Czech TV on Sunday. Mr. Rakušan said that the government could choose to extend border checks for another month, i.e. until November 28, and could not rule out the possibility of a further extension even after that date. However, beyond November 28, the Czech Republic would need EU approval. The minister is therefore preparing documents for negotiations with the European Commission.

Czechia introduced checks on its border with Slovakia on September 29. They were originally only supposed to last for several days, but the government has already extended them once to October 28.

Increased numbers of migrants have been coming into the region since May, mostly using Czechia as a transit route on their way to Germany or other Western European countries. The interior minister said that the checks are producing results, but a drastic drop in migration would be a miracle.