Police step up checks for human traffickers, no border controls

Ben Bassey 10:57 - 07 September 2015

Austrian police step up checks for human traffickers, no border controls

Police on Austria's eastern border with Hungary are intensifying checks on suspected human traffickers but otherwise not tightening controls on people crossing the frontier, a spokesman for police in Burgenland province said on Monday.

Chancellor Werner Faymann had announced on Sunday that Austria planned to phase out emergency measures allowing the unimpeded inflow of thousands of migrants from Hungary to Austria and Germany.

"There will still be no border controls. That would be against the Schengen agreement," spokesman Helmut Marban said, adding checks to catch human smugglers "will be activated and become more visible". The area was quiet on Monday morning after around 260 migrants crossed over from Hungary before midnight.