The Austrian interior minister is still concerned about the protection of the EU’s external borders
Air Schengen can come quickly for Romania and Bulgaria. This position was expressed by the Austrian Minister of the Interior, Gerhard Karner, to the newspaper “Courier”.
Austria is now the only one in the EU to block the accession of the two Eastern European countries to Schengen. According to Karner, there are currently almost no full members of the free travel zone – most countries have reintroduced border controls with their neighbors.
According to Carner, Sofia and Bucharest should be considered initially to join Schengen by air only, as there are no problems with illegal migration when flying. The minister reveals that a proposal from the EC is awaited for the implementation of this plan. He is concerned about protecting the EU’s external border, strengthening border controls on the land routes between Bulgaria and Romania and ensuring that both countries also accept asylum seekers for whom they are responsible as countries at the external borders.
“If that happens, then air Schengen can happen quickly. Talking about full membership is pure speculation,” says Karner. He adds that he had talks with Romania and Bulgaria on the subject.
The minister defined the EU Pact on asylum and migration as a “step in the right direction”. Detailed proposals are currently being considered. There is still no agreement on the idea of procedures being carried out outside the EU in safe third countries.
Karner is not satisfied with the asylum situation in Austria, even though there has been a sharp drop in applications this year: “The country is still too heavily burdened.”
“Austria’s approach is quite dangerous because, in addition to setting conditions that are not present in the Schengen agreement, it is trying to push us towards an unacceptable path, namely – to enter the EU free movement area in two stages – first by air , and then land Schengen. This does not in any way justify this approach, given that even the most demanding countries until recently, namely the Netherlands, no longer have any objections against Romania or Bulgaria,” argued Romanian MEP Eugen Tomac.
2023-12-27 20:00:00
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