The immigration issue quickly became one of the main election campaign topics in Slovakia. According to the majority party opinion, the interim government led by Lagos Oduor did not handle the issue properly, providing support to the affected areas and settlements too late. Although it is still questionable which parties will form the government coalition leading Slovakia, it is important to note that
After “rule of chaos” and “rule of the mafia”?
“The Samir Halas-SNP government can achieve relative stability, which voters can especially appreciate after the ‘rule of chaos’ of the past three years, but with this government, the ‘mafia rule’ before 2020 will basically return.” – Balazs Tarnok explained Which undermines the chances of the next Slovak government. According to the head of the European Strategic Research Institute of the National University of the Public Service (NKE), between 2016 and 2020, the country was also ruled by Samar and SNS (which were still united at that time), and then they were supplemented by Most-Head, in which the party practically ceased to exist Meanwhile, this is largely because voters punished party politicians for their role in this government.
According to security policy expert Arpad Bardoš, the issue of border control featured prominently in Smer-SD communications led by Robert Fico, but it was Richard Sulík, SaS, Peter Pellegrini, Hlas, and Boris Kolar, Sme Rodina, who did not enter in the end. Parliament, also formulated similar messages (we are family) to the leader. According to an employee of the Migration Research Institute, since Austria, Poland and the Czech Republic have also brought back border guards unlike Slovakia, the new government is expected to do everything it can to solve the problem.
Slovakia will export the certificate given to immigrants
“The increase in the number of illegal immigrants this year is noticeable,” says Arpad Bardosh. According to the expert, according to data from the Slovak Police and the Ministry of Interior, 17,529 illegal immigrants were arrested in Slovakia in the first seven months of the year, but currently this number has already exceeded 27,000.
It can be argued that in addition to the border controls introduced at the Austro-German border, the administrative characteristics of the Slovak asylum system may also play a role in the surge.
– says the expert. As is known: The duration of the Slovak asylum procedure is 9 months, extendable for another 9 months. In addition, irregular immigrants obtain a certificate after their arrest guaranteeing their residence and movement in Slovakia for the duration of their stay. Procedure.
According to a worker at the Migration Research Institute, there is a widespread belief among illegal immigrants that the certificate entitles them to stay and move freely in the European Union.
“The Slovak authorities are currently planning to issue the certificate,” the security policy expert adds.
Will there be a reception center in Malacca?
A few months ago, the Slovak Interior Ministry wanted to establish another reception center in the city called Malacca. There is a great deal of information available about the planned reception center in Malacca. According to news published in the newspapers, the city mayor and residents are protesting against the project.
However, the construction of the reception center would contribute significantly to the development of the Slovak asylum institutional system
– claims Arpad Bardosh, who says that the country’s institutional system is currently unable to receive and absorb the large number of illegal immigrants residing in the country.
According to the expert, the problem actually appeared last year, after the Czech Republic closed its borders. At that time, the government placed illegal immigrants in an abandoned industrial zone in the town of Kuti, located near the Czech border. According to Arpad Bardoš, the new Slovak leadership wants to prevent anything similar from happening in the Nagykortos region, which is affected by migration.
(Cover photo: Robert Nemiti/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
