The European Union wants to take action against illegal migration via the Balkan route. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) expects five concrete steps from a special meeting with EU counterparts on Friday in Brussels. Schengen expansion is not on the agenda. “From the current perspective, I can’t imagine this expansion,” said Karner.
Meanwhile, the EU Commission is working on a proposal to curb illegal migration via the Balkan route, EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson told portal Politico. EU Commission Vice President on Migration Margaritis Schinas said Friday’s meeting would focus on the Mediterranean route and the EU Commission’s action plan. “We also want to present an action plan for the West Balkan route,” said Schinas. The plan is to be ready before the West Balkans Summit in Tirana on December 6. However, the EU should no longer work “from crisis to crisis, from ship to ship” on its migration policy. “We need one frame.” He expects an agreement on an EU asylum and migration package at the end of this EU Commission’s mandate in 2024.
In a letter to Johansson and Schinas, Karner called for five specific points: first, a pilot project for asylum procedures in EU countries at EU external borders, second, “rejection directives” that no longer require individual inspections, third, asylum procedures in third countries that safe, fourth, easier removal of protected status under the Procedure Directives, even in cases of less serious criminal offences, and fifth, more support from EU countries for Frontex at EU external borders and in third countries. He also expects further financial support for external border protection from the European Union Commission, said Karner.
“We are facing an unbearable situation in Austria,” said Karner. This year alone, Austria has more than 100,000 concerns, 75,000 of which are undocumented migrants, “even though we are a landlocked EU country. It means something is not working in the system.” There is an overall problem with the West Balkan route. 40 percent of migrants arrive via Belgrade Airport, another 40 percent by land via Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Hungary, and another 20 percent are distributed by route other.
Karner wants to use the “Refusal Directive” to avoid examining individual cases for countries where relatives don’t have a chance to get asylum, as he says. Karner cited India and Tunisia as examples, from which a large number of asylum applications have come this year.
On the EU Commission’s proposal to expand Schengen to include Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria, Karner emphasized “that I don’t think it makes sense for Austria to have a system that isn’t working – and Schengen isn’t working, isn’t working – right now to scale up. Karner:” From the current perspective, I can’t imagine agreeing (a Schengen extension, take note), but that’s not on the agenda today.” He repeated his statement that the majority of those arriving were coming via the Balkan route, “and Croatia is not the issue”.
Luxembourg’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Migration, Jean Asselborn, spoke out against not including Bulgaria and Romania in the Schengen area. “The Commission has responded positively to the three countries,” he said. “We can’t say now, we only took one country.” He disagreed with Austria on this point, “the Balkan route is a different matter”.
The EU interior minister does not want to decide on an extension of Schengen until December 8. For today’s session, the EU Commission presented an action plan to combat illegal migration via the Mediterranean route.
Karner found support for his demands. He has recently been in intensive contact with the Czech Presidency of the EU Council as well as with Greece, Poland and Lithuania. The interior minister also hopes for relief from the change in Serbia’s visa policy. Belgrade has reacted against Tunisia, and Serbia will also adjust its visa policy towards India by the end of the year. This year alone, Austria received 15,000 applications from India, compared with 200 last year.
Schinas dampens hopes of reception centers for asylum seekers in Africa. European Union Commission Jean-Claude Juncker previously tried to do this and was unsuccessful. I don’t see how it’s supposed to work now,” he said.
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