Italy on Wednesday said it was reimposing controls on the border with Slovenia for 10 days, citing concerns about irregular migration and national security following Hamas’ attack on Israel.
The frontier is part of Europe’s Schengen open-borders area, but Brussels allows the reintroduction of checks in exceptional circumstances.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s office in a statement said an “intensification of outbreaks of crises on the borders of Europe, in particular after the attack against Israel, has increased the threat of violent action also within the EU”.
The picture was “aggravated by the constant migratory pressure to which Italy is subjected,” the statement said — including across the Slovenian border, where it said 16,000 people had crossed without documentation this year.
“This scenario... confirms the need for a further strengthening of prevention and control measures,” it added, with current law enforcement measures at the Slovenian border considered “inadequate.”
Italy said it had informed Brussels of its plans and the new checks would come into effect from tomorrow for 10 days.
Austria on Tuesday announced that it was introducing checks at its border with the Czech Republic in a bid to curb undocumented migration and prevent smugglers from changing their routes.
A day earlier, Germany moved to add new checks along its eastern and southern borders as it manages a rise in migrant arrivals.
The Oct. 7 attack by Hamas against Israel killed more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians, inside the country, according to Israeli officials.
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