Border controls can sometimes be time-consuming and annoying for travelers. If the European Commission’s plans go ahead, there should soon be fewer on the continent. However, Austria does not agree to a planned extension of Schengen to Romania and Bulgaria. “It is functionless, the system,” Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) explains the decision.
So far this year, 100,000 migrants have been apprehended in Austria, “as a landlocked country,” Karner said in the Ö1 “Mittagsjournal”. “75,000 of them are not registered. Austria is doing this because it is also about the safety of the people in this country.”
If a system doesn’t work, it can’t be made any bigger, Karner stressed.
Therefore, “there is a clear no from me as Secretary of the Interior, responsible for security,” Karner said. For him, the surveillance of the external borders had failed, which is why more and more European countries rely on the control of their national borders. In addition to Austria, for example, Germany, France, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Sweden and the non-EU country Norway, which is a member of the Schengen Agreement, would carry out internal border controls.
The EU commission on Wednesday recommended extending the control-free Schengen area to Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia. Although Croatia is on the verge of joining Schengen, there is still skepticism about Romania and Bulgaria. The EU countries vote on December 8.
To enter the control-free Schengen area, the consent of all existing members is required. These are currently all other EU countries with the exception of Ireland and Cyprus. In addition, four non-EU countries are members, namely Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. As a rule, there are no internal controls at the borders in the Schengen area. However, after the refugee crisis in 2015, this principle was suspended by many countries, including Austria.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
