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Austria is renewing internal border controls with Slovenia and Hungary which have been in place since 2015. Interior Minister Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) has briefed the EU institutions, as well as the EU and Schengen states accordingly, according to a transmission from the Interior Ministry on Wednesday. The extension is valid until May 11, 2021 inclusive.
For this reason, the Interior Minister named as reasons the “ongoing migratory pressure, the preservation of internal security and the tense situation around the crown pandemic.” Slovenia and Hungary had protested against the measure several times in the past.
In the Schengen area, to which 26 European countries belong, there are actually no checks on people at the borders. However, after the 2015 refugee crisis, several states made use of an exemption and, in some cases, reintroduced such controls. In cases where public safety is threatened, the Schengen Borders Code allows border controls “for the foreseeable duration of the serious threat”.
Germany maintains similar border controls with Austria, as do Sweden, Denmark and Norway, which is not part of the EU but is part of the Schengen area. The EU Commission has already asked the affected countries several times to let their border controls expire. France also maintains controls over Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and Spain.
