Mariusz Kamiński made the statement in an interview with public broadcaster Polish Radio.
Poland on Wednesday reinstated temporary checks on the Slovak border to prevent an influx of illegal migrants, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
The checks "have been introduced on an urgent basis” until October 13, and can be extended for further periods, "each no longer than 20 days," according to officials.
The total duration of checks imposed “on an urgent basis” may not exceed two months, the PAP news agency reported.
To introduce checks “on a normal basis,” Poland would have to notify the European Union’s executive Commission four weeks in advance, according to officials.
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 EU, countries of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and Switzerland, as well as their spouses and children, the PAP news agency reported.
Entrants will have their IDs or passports checked, officials said.
Asked if the checks would be prolonged, Poland’s interior minister said on Wednesday: “This will largely depend on the results of these checks and on how quickly a new government will be formed in Slovakia.”
Kamiński added: “Making effective checks and effectively blocking this section of the Balkan trail [of illegal migration] will require good cooperation with the Slovak government.”
He noted that Slovakia held parliamentary elections on Saturday and told Polish Radio that the new Slovak government “will have to work together” with Polish and Czech authorities on the issue.
The Polish interior minister also said in the interview that “the number of illegal migrants identified in Slovakia has increased by almost 1,000 percent compared with last year.”
He added there were “many more illegal migrants who remain undetected,” many of them seeking to cross the Balkan trail via Slovakia to Germany.
On Tuesday, Poland’s Border Guard agency said it had detained 1,603 migrants at the Slovak border so far this year, and around 279 at the Czech border.
Since the start of the year, Poland has detained 1,882 people using the so-called Balkan trail of illegal migration at its southern border, according to officials.
At this stage last year, the corresponding figure was 78, and two years ago the number of those detained was 32, the PAP news agency reported.
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP