The Czech Republic has announced that it will end conducting border controls with neighboring Slovakia, which had been introduced in a bid to control irregular migration patterns. But elsewhere in the bloc, border controls remain on high alert.
Prague reported a significant rise in irregular migrants in 2022, with the vast majority coming from Syria. Most migrants, however, continued their journey to Western European countries to seek asylum.
The Czech Republic has announced that it will be extending temporary checks along its border with Slovakia. The extension will run for another 45 days and is presently set to end on December 12.
There has been an increase in the interceptions of undocumented migrants at the Slovakian border, after patrols were intensified due to the reinstatement of border controls by the Czech Republic and Austria in the Schengen area.
After reintroducing border checks, Central European leaders have been discussing further measures to block migrants who use their countries as transit routes to the rest of the EU.
Countries along the Balkan route are stepping up border controls in an attempt to stem irregular migration. An increasing number of migrants have been taking this route since this summer -- what accounts for this phenomenon? Several hypotheses exist.
Czech border police on Thursday fired warning shots in the air before detaining the driver of a van carrying 15 migrants. Czechia and Austria have re-introduced checks at their borders with Slovakia to combat a rise in unauthorized entries.
The Czech government is temporarily reintroducing border checks with Slovakia in order to prevent irregular migrants from entering the country.
German police have discovered 23 refugees from Syria in a forest near the Czech border. They were reportedly abandoned there by smugglers.
12 out of Germany's 16 states currently don't have space to host new refugees, according to a media report. Meanwhile the number of unauthorized entries across the Czech-German border has reached a record high.
Google said that it was basing its campaign on research by British psychologists, where viewers were exposed to "inoculating" clips. The campaign is centered on Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
The Czech Republic is reportedly holding large-scale border protection training exercises to prepare for a possible arrival of a large number of migrants. The country's interior minister claims that the number of irregular arrivals has been on the rise lately.