The Austrian Ministry of Interior has decided to extend its internal border controls with Slovenia and Hungary, set to expire on November 12, 2020, for another six months.
Austria’s border controls with these two countries, which have been in place since September 2016, and continuously extended every half a year, will be valid until May 11, 2021, with the possibility of being extended again.
The decision was announced by the Minister of Interior Karl Nehammer, who also sent a notification letter to the European Commission, respectively the Vice-President of the European Commission, Margaritis Schinas, the EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, the President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, and the General Secretariat of the Council.
“In addition, my counterparts from Slovenia and Hungary were informed about Austria’s decision to carry out internal border controls for a further six months,” Minister Nehammer noted, announcing the extension.
The move has been taken based on Articles 25 to 27 of EU Regulation 2016/399 on Schengen Borders, citing ‘ongoing migration pressure, the preservation of internal security and the tense the situation surrounding the corona pandemic’ as the main reason why Austria intends to keep border controls in place for another six months.
The current border controls that Austria has in place at land borders with Hungary and Slovakia have been extended back in April, after the then-existing controls were set to expire on May 11. They have been effective since September 2015 due to secondary movements, risk related to terrorists and organised crime, the situation at the external borders, amid the migration crisis that hit Europe with thousands of refugees.
Currently, the following member states have existing border controls:
- France (1 May – 31 October 2020, 1 November 2020 – 30 April 2021) – all internal borders
- Denmark (12 May – 12 November 2020) – land border with Germany and with Sweden, ferry connections to Germany and to Sweden
- Germany (12 May – 11 November 2020) – land border with Austria
- Norway (12 May – 11 November 2020) – ports with ferry connections with Denmark, Germany and Sweden
- Sweden (12 May – 11 November 2020) – to be determined but may concern all internal borders.
SOURCE: Schengen Visa Info
