Austria is extending the border controls with the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia again by six months until June 2026. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner announced this together with Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner (both ÖVP), State Secretary in the Interior Ministry Jörg Leichtfried (SPÖ), General Secretary of the Neos Douglas Hoyos-Trauttmansdorff and the General Director of Public Security Franz Ruf at a press conference on Friday. But: the type of control is changing. Instead of exclusively static controls at the borders, the focus in the future should be more on the larger border area, i.e. also include controls in the larger area around the border, on important transit routes, on roads, railway lines and throughout Germany.
