Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer and Bulgarian President Rumen Radev agreed on a visit by Nehammer and his Interior Minister Gerhard Karner to the Bulgarian border on January 23, writes the Austrian news agency APA, quoted by News.ro.
Karl Nehammer, Chancellor of AustriaPhoto: Kommersant photo agency / ddp USA / Profimedia
Austria’s veto against Romania and Bulgaria’s Schengen membership has caused discontent in both countries, and Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer is obviously trying to fix the broken china, he comments the Austrian newspaper Die Pressenoting that the president of Bulgaria, Rumen Radev, was Nehammer’s guest at the New Year’s concert in Vienna.
After Sunday’s talks, the two officials wanted to “cooperate closely to strengthen the protection of the EU’s external borders,” Chancellor Karl Nehammer said after the meeting.
The high number of asylum seekers was the argument for Austria’s veto over Romania’s and Bulgaria’s Schengen membership. However, it is disputed that most of the asylum seekers passed through Bulgaria. Bulgaria said at the time that the Austrian veto was motivated by domestic politics, the Austrian press recalls.
Currently, Chancellor Nehammer wants to support Bulgaria to get more help from the EU for the protection of external borders. This would imply on the one hand European funding for the construction of a barrier between Bulgaria and Turkey and, on the other hand, an increase in Frontex’s capabilities in this region, says the APA agency.
We recall that on 8 December 2022, at the meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council (JHA) of the EU, Austria has blocked Bulgaria’s and Romania’s access to the Schengen area.
