Prime Minister Robert Fico has sent drones, water cannons and police horses to the border, despite a predictable drop in irregular crossings due to colder weather, in what critics say is an attempt to take credit.
Latest numbers from the Interior Ministry show that while migration has gone up from 6,000 illegal crossings in July to over 13,000 in September, the first half of October saw only 4,000.
New Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok expects a “large migration wave” in connection to the situation in the Middle East. However, Braňo Tichý, a migration expert from the opposition Progressive Slovakia, thinks Fico wants to take credit for the already low migration numbers.
“It is due to a combination of measures by countries on the so-called Balkan route and the coming change in the weather. It is not unexpected; it happens around this time every year, and anyone who has spent at least 20 minutes on the subject knows that,” Tichý said, adding that he considers it a “scare and triumph” tactic.
Fico said he borrowed equipment from the Czech Republic to strengthen the border, including with vehicles that identify incoming people from kilometres away, in what the government deems to be a “demonstration of power”.
“Our actions will be very tough, very strict, but in accordance with the law,” said Eštok.
In early October, Slovakia reintroduced checks at the border with Hungary to reduce the number of incoming migrants. Larger than usual numbers of people entered the country, apparently attracted by a residence certificate introduced by Fico’s previous government, even though it holds little practical use.
Migration then became a heated pre-election topic, with Fico making videos of migrants gathering in ad-hoc shelters. Fico and his MPs, however, refused to vote for the interim government’s plan to cancel the documents, which act as a pull factor.
(Barbara Zmušková | Euractiv.sk)
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Source: euractiv.com
