Austria plans to extend checks at its borders with Slovenia and Hungary for another six months from May 11, when the current six-month suspension of free crossings at those borders ends.
This was stated by Interior Minister Gerhard Karner in an interview with ORF radio on Tuesday, Reuters reports.
"In the coming days, we will inform the European Commission that we will have to continue border checks," Carner said, adding that the continued suspension of the Schengen zone's free-crossing rules is necessary to combat illegal migration.
Austria introduced border controls with Hungary and Slovenia in 2015 as more than 1 million asylum seekers from war-torn countries such as Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan entered the EU. These controls remain in place.
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehhammer complained in January this year that the Schengen system, which offers EU citizens visa-free travel across borders, is in a major crisis. He stated that the reintroduction of border controls between the member countries of the Schengen zone took place for several reasons, in particular with the aim of curbing illegal migration.
