Slovakia should consider reintroducing checks on its border with Hungary, head of the extra-parliamentary Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) Milan Majersky stated on Tuesday, arguing that Slovakia has found itself outside the Schengen area due to the Government's inactivity after the Czech Republic and Austria set up checks on their respective borders with Slovakia due to increased illegal migration. "It is incomprehensible that Slovakia should bear the burden of unmanaged migration to the European Union when it is primarily Hungary that is failing to protect its external Schengen border. Slovakia protects its border with Ukraine better," opined Majersky. In his opinion, Slovakia must act immediately because its inaction is causing diplomatic and economic damage. Majersky pointed out that although Slovakia is assisting Hungary in protecting its border with Serbia, the migration problem remains a pressing issue that needs to be addressed.
Reintroducing checks on the border with Hungary will not have the desired effect, Interior Minister Roman Mikulec (OLaNO) warned on Tuesday, maintaining that the focus should be put on protecting the external borders of the Schengen area. The minister admitted that there could be a theoretical option of reintroducing checks on the Slovak-Hungarian border, but he noted that the move would restrict Slovaks living in Hungary. In addition, he pointed to extensive costs and a lack of police officers and infrastructure, arguing that increased migration shouldn't be a reason for reintroducing border checks in line with EU rules. "It's wrong to think that we can hermetically seal the border and that not a single individual will pass through. This is unrealistic, which is why we say that the solution is to unite individual countries and protect the external borders," said Mikulec. He considers the way in which Slovakia has secured the border with Ukraine in cooperation with international organisations to be a good example. "The European Commission must negotiate with Turkey and Serbia so that we can negotiate readmission agreements with them," said Mikulec. According to him, Slovakia is pressuring the European Commission to address non-compliance with existing guidelines concerning migration and to harmonise visa policy with Serbia.
