Despite the downward trend in the number of asylum seekers, Austria’s Foreign Minister Gerhard Karner said the country wants to continue vetoing the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen free movement area. Border control is part of the successes, so the situation remains unchanged, Karner pointed out.
He reported that in the first half of this year, 5,900 foreigners were voluntarily and forcibly removed from the country – 20 percent more than in the same period last year.
“In the first half of the year, more asylum seekers left Austria than new asylum applications,” Karner said at a press conference, quoted by local media, BTA reported.
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Separately, according to the Ministry of the Interior, about 18,500 people avoided the asylum procedure by voluntarily leaving the country.
“This is a positive balance, but it is not a cause for celebration, but an obligation to continue working hard in this direction,” he added.
Half of the foreigners deported from Austria between January and June left voluntarily, while the other half were forcibly deported. About 31 percent of those deported, or 1,820 people, are EU citizens. The main countries of deportation were Slovakia (648), Serbia (557), Romania (374), India (297) and Turkey (266). In 704 cases, asylum seekers were returned to other EU countries under the Dublin Regulation, according to which an applicant’s asylum application must be examined in the first country he entered the EU.
Karner rejected accusations that Austrian police officers are indirectly involved in illegal “pushbacks” (a term that refers to “a set of state measures by which refugees and migrants are turned back across a border – usually immediately after crossing it – without taking into account their individual circumstances and without any opportunity to apply for asylum” – note ed.) within the framework of Operation “Fox”.
Allegations of violence during the return process must be investigated and this is the task of Hungary and the European Commission. This is to be distinguished from boundary return. Operation Fox has been successful and will be continued. Currently, 31 Austrian employees are involved in the operation in Hungary. According to Karner, in the first half of this year, around 70 human traffickers were arrested in Hungary.
The statements of the Austrian interior minister were criticized by opposition parties and civil organizations.
Karner said in a radio interview: “The fact is that ‘pushback’ is a forceful push back at the border. It’s illegal, it’s true. But it’s permissible to turn people back at the border if they have no chance to enter legally. That’s what Austria is doing, that’s obvious Hungary is doing it, Germany is doing it with Austria, it’s normal practice.”
The task of the Austrian police is to protect the Austrian borders, which it also does on Hungarian territory. This has contributed to a decrease in asylum applications on Austrian territory in the first half of the year, the Austrian interior minister said.
Karner notes that migrant trafficking routes have only changed as a result of Austria’s measures, as asylum-seekers in other European Union countries have been on the rise. That is why he again called for a rethink at the European level and the implementation of the EU’s asylum reform, as well as investment in the protection of the EU’s external borders.
2023-08-01 13:03:17
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