Acting Justice Minister Jana Dubovcová (l) and Interior Minister Ivan Šimko (r) during a government meeting on June 12, 2023. (source: TASR - Jaroslav Novák)
Most of the illegal migrants crossing Slovak borders, 94 percent, come from Syria, acting Interior Minister Ivan Šimko told lawmakers on June 15 when reporting on the protection of Slovakia's state borders.
Because of the ongoing civil war in Syria, these people cannot be sent back home.
Šimko noted that the problem needs to be tackled at an EU level. The minister did not support the most recent changes to EU asylum and migration laws, however. Instead, he hinted that Slovakia would call for the introduction of a return scheme that would make it possible to return Syrians to safe areas of their own country or to third countries from which they entered EU member states.
On Thursday, the BBC reported that at least 78 migrants died in the Mediterranean after a vessel sank off southern Greece.
Meanwhile, in Slovakia, the town of Malacky is opposing the Interior Ministry’s plan to build a humanitarian centre in the town. Illegal migrants who do not want to apply for asylum in Slovakia could stay there temporarily.
The acting minister stressed that illegal migrants have not violated public order in Slovakia.
