2023-06-28 14:57:00
Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) has reiterated his rejection of a higher EU budget, but at the same time sees a massive financial need in the fight against illegal migration. “It also means that it would cost a lot of money,” said Nehammer on Wednesday in Parliament’s main EU committee with a view to external border protection, processing centers and repatriation agreements. But this is “certainly a better investment than the money we usually spend.”
Nehammer made the comments ahead of Thursday’s EU summit, which he says will deal with Ukraine, illegal migration, and security and defense policy. In his opening statement, he reaffirmed his political positions in this regard, praised the EU interior ministers’ recent agreement on an asylum and migration package and urged that this should now be implemented in concrete terms, for example through agreements with North African countries on processing centers. “The organized crime business model will be dead the second the asylum procedure in third countries becomes the central procedure,” he emphasized.
The ÖVP leader opposed “fast-track” accession talks with Ukraine and stressed that he had explicitly taken Austrian neutrality into account in the summit conclusions when it came to military decisions for Ukraine. “We continue to support Ukraine in those areas where we can do so as a neutral country,” he said. With 150 million euros per capita, Austria has provided more humanitarian aid for Ukraine than any other country.
During the debate, several MEPs addressed Nehammer’s recent decision not to agree to the increase in the EU budget desired by the EU Commission. SPÖ MP Eva-Maria Holzleitner described the changes brought into play within the EU budget as “highly problematic” because it would also affect projects brought in by Austria. NEOS mandater Niki Scherak considered it “amusing” that the very government that “unpacks the cornucopia and throws money at everyone very intensively” in Austria now wants to be very cautious at EU level.
The coalition partner also objected. Nehammer would “now take a position that you know isn’t going out, and then let the FPÖ accuse him of breaching his word,” said Green mandater Jakob Schwarz. His club colleague Michel Reimon made a similar statement. “In the end, the chancellor won’t fall over. He has a very clear negotiating position that he knows he won’t be able to hold in the end.”
On the other hand, FPÖ MP Petra Steger described the additional financial demands of the commission as “outrageous” and criticized in particular the additional billions for Ukraine. In this regard, she even expressed the fear that the money would go “to the pay of soldiers”, which would be “clearly contrary to neutrality”. Steger underpinned her position with a motion that Nehammer was supposed to say no to higher EU contribution payments. This was rejected, as were two other motions against the 500 million euro fund for ammunition supplies to Ukraine and a motion against the distribution quotas and “compulsory payments” provided for in the EU asylum and migration package for states that do not accept migrants. Just as with the EU budget, the ÖVP had “fallen over” on this issue, she criticized.
Nehammer did not express a categorical no to a higher EU budget in the debate. However, he defended his position that he would “not agree to any increase here” and pointed out that there were still 400 billion EU in the EU cohesion fund and 80 billion euros in the loan fund. The EU Commission should “submit constructive proposals” in this regard. “We are net contributors, we have to represent the interests of taxpayers,” emphasized the ÖVP leader.
Steger and her club colleague Axel Kassegger also twice brought up the subject of the Russian-Ukrainian gas transit contract, which is due to expire next year. Faced with Kiev’s refusal to renew this contract, Kassegger suggested using EU payments to Ukraine as a bargaining chip. If no more Russian gas comes through the Druzhba pipeline, “it will be cold for European households,” said the FPÖ mandatary.
“It is unwise to signal to a wartime nation like the Russian Federation that we cannot survive without them,” Nehammer replied to the FPÖ MPs. He advocated gathering more information first in order to then consider a strategy for influencing Ukraine on this issue. At the same time, he highlighted the successes in diversifying the gas supply. The storage tanks were filled last year, even though only 30 percent of the Russian gas flowed. Nehammer reported that Russia had also tried to exert pressure with traditional deliveries, because OMV then had to get rid of the gas cheaper due to a lack of capacity. The chancellor reiterated his intention to consider legal action “on how to get out of this long-standing relationship.”
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