Slovakia is continuing its controls on the border with Hungary for another month in order to curb smuggling crime. The cabinet of the new Prime Minister Robert Fico initially extended the measure today until the 23rd. December, as the TASR news agency reported.

The move was justified, among other things, by concerns that the Gaza war in Israel could lead to stronger migration movements. A tough action against irregular migration had been one of Fico’s most important promises in the election campaign. His left-wing national Smer-SD has been ruling together with social democrats and nationalists since the end of October.

The cost of the extension was estimated at more than three million euros. Flexible controls are to continue to take place along the entire more than 650-kilometer-long border between Hungary and Slovakia. The two EU member states have actually been part of the Schengen area since the end of 2007, in which citizens can normally move without controls.