Mariusz Kamiński announced the plan in an interview with public broadcaster Polish Radio.
The interior minister said: “The temporary checks on the Slovak border expire tomorrow. Today we’ll announce an extension of the checks until November 2.”
Kamiński added that the measure had produced “good results, clear effects,” and so “there won’t be any illegal migration trails running through Poland.”
The interior minister told Polish Radio that some 550 illegal migrants have been identified since the checks were introduced on October 4.
“This proves the issue is serious and the Balkan trail is real,” he added.
Kamiński stated: “It seems we have blocked this trail for some time, just as we have effectively blocked the Belarus trail.”
On October 4, Poland reinstated temporary checks on the Slovak border to prevent an influx of illegal migrants, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
The checks were put in place initially for 10 days, until Friday, October 13.
Under the measure, Poland can be entered from Slovakia only through border crossings, including eight road crossings and three railway crossings. In addition, 11 pedestrian crossings have been made available for citizens of the European Union, countries of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and Switzerland, as well as their spouses and children, the PAP news agency reported.
Entrants have their IDs or passports checked, officials said.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, dziennik.pl