Austria will introduce stationary controls at the Czech border on Wednesday, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry told APA on Thursday, marking another of Austria’s moves to combat the influx of irregular migrants.
The move comes after Germany announced border controls with Czechia, Poland and Switzerland on Monday to tackle the inflow of irregular migrants.
The new controls at the Czech border will be in place for at least ten days and open for renewal afterwards.
Due to skyrocketing arrival numbers in recent years, Austria has declared the fight against irregular migration one of its top priorities.
Compared to 2021, the number of asylum seekers in Austria increased by 195% in 2022, with more than 56,000 people applying for asylum between January and August. While Syrians and Afghans have long topped the list of applicants, Indians were the largest group to apply for Asylum in 2022.
However, in 2023, it seems that the trend has somewhat reversed. In the first eight months of 2023, asylum applications declined by around 40%.
Austria already carries out controls on the borders of several of its neighbours.
While controls on the Hungarian and Slovenian borders have been in place for years, it only reintroduced stationary controls on its border with Slovenia at the start of October.
Since the migration crisis in 2015, Austria has adopted a robust anti-migration stance. It strongly advocates tightening controls at the EU’s external borders and increasing the number of returns for irregular migrants.
(Oliver Noyan | Euractiv.de)
Read more with EURACTIV
Lost in translation? Macron’s words on Kosovo visas cause stir in region
Source: euractiv.com
