Temporary border checks at crossings with Slovakia will be extended by 45 days, the press agency spokesman for the Czech Interior Ministry Ondrej Kratoska confirmed to TASR on Thursday. At a press conference earlier in the day following the Czech Government meeting, Petr Fiala stated that the Czech Republic would extend the checks by 15 days. However, the Czech Interior Ministry later corrected his words. Kratoska further stated that one extension is really by 15 days, but the Government approved on Thursday two extensions at the same time, the second one by 30 days. The border checks at crossings with Slovakia will thus last until December 12.
In total, since the introduction of temporary checks on the Czech-Slovak border, members of the Czech police, customs administration and army have detained almost 5,500 illegal migrants and 74 human traffickers.
Temporary checks at 27 former border crossings and on the so-called green border have been operating since September 29. They were caused by an increasing number of refugees originating mainly from Syria, who are coming mainly from Turkey and heading to Germany and Austria.
Source: TASR
