Austria extends spot border checks with Czechia by 20 days

Austria will extend its border controls with the Czech Republic by another 20 days, the Interior Ministry in Vienna announced on Thursday evening. The spot border checks were initially introduced on October 18 for days, than they were extended and were due to end this Friday.

Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said the measure was necessary not only to combat people smugglers but also as an important part of the fight against terrorism in the context of the Middle East crisic.

Germany also announced this week that it was extending its border checks with Czechia, Poland and Switzerland for another 20 days.