Switzerland has closed its borders with Italy and introduced heavy restrictions on movement from other countries following the recent influx of illegal migrants in Europe.
The Swiss Federal Office of Customs and Border Security (UDSC) claimed the decision was a precautionary measure after the French and Austrian governments similarly restricted movement on their borders with Italy last week. The only remaining Italian neighbor to keep its frontier open is Slovenia, as it is not a preferred location by African or Middle Eastern migrants.
The Swiss government was further encouraged to act by the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, with the region regularly appealing for more assistance in its efforts to accommodate increasing numbers of migrants who arrived in the country after it reached its processing capacity. The federal government has stationed more border security guards on the region’s Italian borders as a result.
Switzerland, although not a member of the European Union, is a part of the Schengen Area, which requires it to maintain an open border with other signatories to the agreement and permit the free movement of over 400 million EU citizens and non-EU nationals residing within the bloc.
Over 125,000 illegal migrants have arrived in Italy since the beginning of this year – double last year’s figure. Tens of thousands have landed in Lampedusa, requiring the tiny Mediterranean island of just 6,000 inhabitants to declare a state of emergency over the past several weeks.
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