Interior ministers from six European Union countries say their nations have agreed to step up efforts to protect the bloc from illegal immigration and target groups of human smugglers that operate on its borders. The ministers from the V4 group of Central European nations — including the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia — were joined by counterparts from Austria and Germany. Around 13 of the EU’s 27 member countries have reintroduced internal border checks with their neighbors in recent months. That's a deviation from the normal border-free travel enjoyed in the Schengen zone.
