2023-06-09 19:12:31
After the asylum compromise of the EU states, Interior Minister Gerhard Karner does not want to accept asylum seekers from reception camps on the EU’s external borders. “We don’t need to discuss that at all at the moment. Now it’s about how Austria is relieved. I’m ready to talk about that, but not in the other direction,” said Karner in an interview with the “Presse” on Saturday, according to the advance report .
Karner also upholds the Austrian veto against Romania’s and Bulgaria’s Schengen accession. “The EU Commission must first improve the EU’s external border protection. As long as that doesn’t work, we don’t need to talk about lifting internal controls,” he said.
Karner emphasized that there was no distribution key in the course of the EU asylum compromise. “There is mandatory flexible solidarity. We expect that other countries will now also show solidarity with Austria. Last year Austria had the second highest number of asylum applications per capita in the EU after Cyprus. Austria also has police officers on the Hungarian-Serbian border.”
Karner did not respond to questions about the planned compensation payments of 20,000 euros for each migrant for countries that refuse to accept migrants. “Austria is already making its solidarity contribution. And I now expect these contributions from others.”
The new SPÖ chairman Andreas Babler sees no concrete improvement for Austria in the EU decision, as he said in an interview with “Standard” on Saturday. “Populism often reigns there, migration issues are a political tool of struggle. I have witnessed many such objectives and EU summits in my 25 years in local politics. I am particularly skeptical about fast-track procedures on the fringes of Europe in so-called camps,” so Babeler.
The question is how procedures are handled – this has not been answered at EU level. “If we set up camps outside, we make the bypass more attractive. That leads to even more smuggling routes because people don’t want to be in these camps. You can’t always shift the responsibility onto the southern countries, where these camps would be set up.” , Babeler said.
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