"The population behind it"
Karner stands by his No to Schengen enlargement
Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) is sticking to his No to Schengen enlargement (see video above). He thinks "nothing of taking other steps too quickly", said the politician on Wednesday in Laxenburg. "That would not be understood by the population."
Representatives from 15 European countries have been discussing security policy issues and illegal migration at Laxenburg Castle since Tuesday. They have been working together "very successfully in the area of internal security" for 24 years, said Karner's Slovenian counterpart Boštjan Poklukar. Among other things, the EU asylum and migration pact, repatriations to the civil war country Syria and border protection will be discussed this time.
Bulgaria hopes for an end to the veto
The Schengen accession of Romania and Bulgaria, where Austria's government is still standing on the brakes, was also discussed on the sidelines. Karner pointed out that there must first be a functioning EU external border guard and that Germany and France had suspended Schengen during the current European Football Championship or the Olympic Games in Paris.
His Bulgarian colleague Kalin Stoyanov nevertheless hopes that Vienna's veto will end this year. "I am an optimist." A partial solution to the Schengen dispute could finally be found in the second half of 2023. He also addressed the situation at the Bulgarian border with Turkey. Things have been "extraordinarily calm" there for months.
More migrants at the Slovenian border
The pressure has eased. The migrants have been told that it is difficult for them to cross the border. Poklukar, on the other hand, reported more apprehensions at the Slovenian external border. "There were 18,000 crossings this year, ten percent more than last year." However, Slovenia was also able to apprehend more than 300 smugglers. Measures against illegal migration include cooperation with Croatia and Italy as well as a stronger EU presence in the Western Balkans.
"We have said that this asylum and migration pact must now be brought to life so that it can begin to take effect," said Karner. He reiterated well-known demands such as functioning external border protection, faster asylum procedures and returns to so-called safe third countries.
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