The Slovak government is demanding to stop to the issuance of proof of residence by the police, the recruitment of 500 soldiers, and assistance with the increasing number of migrants in southern cities. Prime Minister Ludovit Odor made a statement at a press conference on Wednesday about the problem of the increase in the number of migrants.
On Tuesday, over 700 migrants came in Veľký Krtíš, where police organised an ad hoc temporary refuge while they waited for consideration by the authorities. Ódor claimed there was “no immediate threat” as police were able to allocate the migrants to foreign police units all over the country.
According to the government, a big thing for migrants is the ‘confirmation of residence’ issued by the police to migrants. In reply, the government has already passed a resolution to make this practice optional rather than mandatory.
The Smer government introduced the confirmation in 2018, and its leader, Robert Fico, is now sharply criticising it. After confirmation, other EU countries can send the people back to Slovakia, even if it was not their point of entry.
However, because the migrants do not wish to stay in Slovakia, State Secretary of the Interior Ministry Martin Královič said he does not see a practical use for it to the migrants but assumes “the transiting migrant has a type of sense that getting it would help”. The government is going to speed things up by increasing police capacity by up to 500 members of the armed forces.
The increase in the number of irregular migrants happens right after Hungary released 1,400 traffickers from its prisons, which MP Juraj Šeliga of the Democrats (EPP) party alleged could be an attempt to help give Fico an “election topic” as the Smer government could be a new ally to Orbán in case it formed a government after September 30. However, the issue of migrants is still under consideration.
