Slovenia prolongs border controls

Ljubljana [Slovenia], May 23: Slovenia will prolong controls on its borders with Hungary and Croatia for another six months due to worsening security conditions in the Middle East, the Interior Ministry said on Wednesday.
"The control will be focused on the prevention of terrorism, extremism and cross-border crime," Interior Minister Bostjan Poklukar said in a written statement.
Slovenia, Croatia and Hungary are all the European Union(EU) Schengen areas countries that do not enforce border controls or checks.
Slovenia introduced temporary controls on its borders with Croatia and Hungary in October after the start of the conflict in Israel, citing security reasons.
Since Oct. 21, when the controls were established, Slovenian police registered about 26,400 illegal border crossings, the ministry said, adding that these figures show that border controls are efficient.
Slovenia's decision to prolong border controls until December comes a day after Italy informed Slovenia that it plans to extend its won controls on the border with Slovenia for security reasons. Italy is also a member of the EU's Schengen area.
During an event to mark the 20th anniversary of Slovenia's EU membership in April, Slovenian President Natasa Pirc Musar called on Slovenia and neighboring countries to open their borders to protect freedom of movement.
Source: Xinhua