Giorgia Meloni, the prime minister of Italy, emphasized that the only way to keep the Schengen Area from possibly collapsing is to protect its external borders. She made these statements in reference to the upcoming October 26–27 meeting of the European Council during her Senate speech. She emphasized the real danger of difficulties facing the Schengen Area. Additionally, Prime Minister Meloni thanked the law enforcement agencies in Slovenia and Croatia for their close collaboration.

The decision to reimpose border controls with Slovenia was made public by Italian authorities on October 18. The initial implementation of these controls is expected to last for ten days, with the possibility of longer periods. Several factors, including the Israel-Hamas conflict, terrorist attacks in France and Belgium, and worries about unauthorized border crossings, led to this decision.

Prime Minister Meloni expressed her worries about the potential radicalization of undocumented immigrants while pointing out that this year has seen a notable rise in the number of migrants entering Italy by sea from North Africa.

She also mentioned the new measures that European Council President Ursula von der Leyen has introduced to fortify European policies and legal frameworks against human trafficking.

Matteo Piantedosi, the Italian Interior Minister, recently hinted that border controls with Slovenia might be prolonged until the next year. According to the most recent update, these controls have already resulted in the screening of 1,555 cars and 3,142 people, leading to the identification of 66 migrants. Two people have been arrested, one of whom is accused of encouraging and abetting irregular migration.

Italy is among the most recent nations to impose border controls, along with Slovenia and Croatia. Controls at Slovenia’s shared borders with Croatia and Hungary have been enforced by the government; they are expected to continue for a minimum of ten days. Croatia’s prime minister, Andrej Plenkovic, has confirmed that Slovenia will follow suit with similar measures.

The Ministry of Justice has confirmed that Denmark has also announced an additional six-month extension of controls at its border with Germany.

Austria, Czechia, and Poland have extended controls at their borders with Slovakia due to concerns about irregular migrants. The extension is expected to last until November 2.