Immigration: Austria Prolongs Border Checks with Slovenia and Hungary

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The Austrian Interior Minister Wolfgang Peschorn says Austria will extend internal Schengen border controls with Hungary and Slovenia, due to security and continuous significant secondary movements.

“We will take account of the circumstances and continue the existing border checks at the borders with Hungary and Slovenia,” Minister Peschorn said, announcing the news.

The current border checks, which were set to expire on November 11, 2019, will be prolonged for six more months, until May 2020.

The move comes two weeks after the German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer initiated the procedures for the extension of internal border checks with Austria for another six months, for the tenth time in a row since 2015.

The EU Member States participating in the Schengen Area have continued to reintroduce and extend border controls for years now since 2015 mainly due to the big influx of persons seeking international protection and secondary movements.

Last month, the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) agreed to start talks with the ministers of the European Union, on the revision of time limits and conditions for the introduction of temporary internal border checks within the Schengen Area.

The proposed amendments, among others, shorten the initial period for border checks for foreseeable events to two months, instead of six, as it is now. In addition, it asserts that internal border reintroduction should be decided as a measure of last resort.

A Timeline of Austria’s Reintroduced Borders since 2015

For Austria, this is also the tenth time that its authorities have extended land border checks with Hungary and Slovenia.

On November 16, 2015, Austria introduced all border checks with its neighbors, with special focus on the land border with Slovenia, Hungary and Italy, subject to possible changes, due to continuous big influx of persons seeking international.

On May 16, 2016, these checks were set to expire. However, the authorities prolonged land border checks with Slovenia and with Hungary making it possible to cross only at specific authorized border crossing points. The border checks were meant to expire on November 12, 2016.

Yet, in November 2016, in line with Recommendation of the Council of 11 November 2016, land border controls with Slovenia and with Hungary were extended one again.

On February 12, 2017 once again in line with Recommendation of the Council of 7 February 2017, land border controls with Slovenia and with Hungary were kept going.

On May 11, 2017, in line with Recommendation of the Council of the same date, controls at land border with Slovenia and with Hungary were still not abolished.

On November 11, 2017, though the border controls were meant to be abolished, Austrian authorities estimated that due to security situation in Europe and threats resulting from the continuous significant secondary movements, checks at land borders with Hungary and with Slovenia should be kept, se they were prolonged once again.

On May 12, 2018, the in November 11, 2018, and May 12, 2019, the borders were extended again for the same reason.

 

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