In the debate over Europe’s general asylum policy, Interior Minister Gerhard Karner demanded further concessions from the German government. “I count on Germany to support Austria on the issue of an asylum center in a safe third country,” the ÖVP politician told German daily Die Welt. Karner sharply criticized FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl. It is a “juggler” who promises things “he would never do himself as Home Secretary”.

“I emphatically welcome the fact that Germany is rethinking the migration issue and that the traffic light coalition is now not only supporting fast asylum procedures at the EU’s external borders, but also intensively checking whether asylum centers and asylum procedures should take place in safe third countries. ,” explained Karner in an interview with “Welt” (Friday – and online edition) regarding the Berlin traffic light coalition of Social Democrats (SPD), Liberals (FDP) and Greens. Austria has been demanding this for a long time.

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According to initial reports, Karner also announced that Austria would no longer accept migrants from third countries following the implementation of the new European asylum policy. He said the EU Commission also had to take into account how many people member states like Austria had taken in the past when distributing migrants in the future. “Simply put: I have clear expectations from Brussels that practically no more refugees from Africa or Asia will come to Austria illegally as soon as the EU has the Common European Asylum System (CEAS).”

“Austrian Fortress”

Regarding the FPÖ motto “Fortress Austria”, Karner said he “didn’t know what to do” with such a term. And then: “That’s a juggler’s term. FPÖ boss Kickl promises things here that he would never do himself as Minister of the Interior.” The Austrian government protects the country’s borders when necessary. “We use advanced technology such as drones, we regularly conduct patrols in areas near the border and have border officials and soldiers on the Austrian border and in the Western Balkans doing a very good job.” This will prevent tens of thousands of illegal border crossings every year. “Everything else is pretending to be fake facts. And I can’t take a joke,” the minister continued.

As well as more legal immigration to Europe, Karner also calls for a much stricter direction in EU migration policy: “But on the other hand, we ultimately need a European asylum brake that prevents abuse. In addition to strong physical border protection, this includes speedy procedures at the border EU and asylum centers in third countries also cover the refusal of migrants who do not have the opportunity to obtain asylum.”

Karner explains the justification of blanket deportation: “Many migrants come from holiday countries such as Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt or India. They have practically no chance of asylum and therefore have to be sent back to their countries of origin without detailed individual checks.” This will save a lot of time and have a deterrent effect on other illegal migrants. “It would make sense to start the trial using a opt-out policy.”