Austria has rejected the call of the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to lift her veto on the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen area for free movement, claiming that there is no point in expanding the visa-free zone at the moment, the online edition “Yuraktiv” reported.
In his State of the Union speech yesterday, von der Leyen addressed Austria over the blockade of Bulgaria and Romania, urging: “Let’s finally let them go – without further delay.”
However, Austria quickly rejected this appeal, notes “Yuractiv”.
“At the moment, the number of migrants across Europe is growing and additional border controls are being discussed in many countries – for example on the border between Germany and Poland,” said Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner.
“At this point, it doesn’t make sense for me to talk about expanding Schengen. We need more control, not less,” Karner added.
Austria is blocking the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen area, fearing an influx of illegal migrants, Juractiv points out.
According to the Austrian government, the two countries cannot effectively control their borders, which would become the external borders of the European Union after their acceptance into Schengen, writes BTA.
On the other hand, Von der Leyen stressed that the two Eastern European countries have already become a model for “the application of good practices in the field of asylum and repatriation”.
“They proved it: Bulgaria and Romania are part of our Schengen area,” said the President of the EC in her “State of the Union” speech.
In Austria itself, the uncompromising position of the government on the question of the veto of Bulgaria and Romania was also criticized – by the liberal party NEOS, which is now in opposition.
“This is a direct appeal to the federal government of Austria to finally lift its indescribable, anti-European veto,” said NEOS MEP Claudia Gammon, quoted by Austria’s APA news agency, after von der Leyen’s speech.
2023-09-14 09:09:00
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