Austria and the Czech Republic have decided to extend internal border controls with Slovakia. The Austrian Ministry of Interior announced the extension until February 5, citing the need to restrict the activity of human smugglers. Meanwhile, the Czech Ministry of Interior revealed the extension of border controls for another ten days, with changes to the way controls will be carried out.

The controls were introduced in September 2022 in a bid to prevent organized groups of smugglers from transiting to Germany. Both countries have notified the Slovak authorities of the extension, though the latter has not made any remarks so far.

Slovak Minister of Interior, Roman Mikulec, had previously accused the Czech Republic of violating the Schengen Borders Code by introducing and extending border controls.
Article by Prague Forum