Neighbouring country hermetically closed Schengen border!

Slovakia elected a new government a couple of weeks ago, and Robert Fico, the leader of the Direction – Social Democracy (Smer), who secured victory in the elections with promises of stricter border control, appears committed to his political agenda. He has begun implementing hermetically sealed Schengen borders on the Hungarian border. He claims this is in response to the constant flow of migrants into Slovakia.

According to parameter.sk, Fico’s new Interior Minister, Matúš Šutaj Eštok, intends to attempt the seemingly impossible by imposing strict border closures on the Hungarian-Slovakian border. A local Hungarian online news outlet suggests that Fico himself may detain some illegal migrants at the Hungarian-Slovakian border this week as part of a well-conceived PR campaign.

Previously, Fico talked about security concerns in the wake of the recent Israel-Palestine conflict in the Middle East. He believes that this armed conflict will lead to an unstoppable wave of illegal migration to Europe, which must be intercepted, at least at the Slovakian borders.

Much like PM Viktor Orbán in 2018, Fico’s election campaign focused on illegal migration and how he would protect the Slovakian people from it. Paraméter wrote that the 650-kilometre-long border could not be entirely sealed, even if the entire army and police were stationed there. The news outlet also pointed out that even if authorities expelled illegal migrants to Hungary, they would likely return, similar to the situation in Northern Serbia, where armed gangs frequently challenge local authorities and each other in areas inhabited by indigenous Hungarian communities. The Hungarian government has not issued a statement yet regarding the potential closure of the Hungarian-Slovakian border.