Annales Scientia Politica (Dec 2018)
Permeability of the Slovak ‒ Ukrainian border
Abstract
In this paper, we examine the permeability of the border between the Slovak Republic and Ukraine. On the basis of data from the Office of the Border and Alien Police of the Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic we analyse the development of legal migration of persons and transport means through the border crossings of Vyšné Nemecké – Uzhhorod and Ubľa – Malyj Bereznyj, also the border crossing for pedestrians and cyclists Veľké Slemence – Mali Slemenci during years 2013 ‒ 2017. We found that the border crossing of Vyšné Nemecké is highly dimensioned, the number of people passing the border is constantly rising, but there is a different situation in the means of transport, where we record, first, decrease and later on gradual increase of the numbers. The number of border crossings also rises at the border crossing of Ubľa, though there has been a decrease in transport vehicles after 2014, followed by an increase later on. A significant change in the increase of the number of persons legally crossing the Slovak Republic and Ukraine border occurred in 2017 in the context of the change of Ukraine's visa regime with the EU countries.
