Veto over Schengen – Nehammer on a delicate mission in Croatia

Chancellor Karl Nehammer has a delicate mission. On the one hand, he appears in Croatia as a kind of proponent of energy infrastructure, on the other hand, the question of asylum is pressing. And huge. Here is the house blessing between Croatia and Austria crooked. The reason is Austria’s right of veto over the extension of the Schengen area to Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia. President Zoran Milanović: “The statements are worrying.” Interior Minister Gerhard Karner’s opposition to Schengen expansion is “a settlement between some EU countries at the expense of Croatia”.

Nehammer for separate solution
The president has a point here. And Nehammer is trying to calm down before the meeting on Thursday. He holds out the prospect of a separate solution: “We hardly feel any migration pressure from Croatia. Since Croatia fulfills border control in an exemplary manner, I see no problem there. The countries are voted on individually.” In plain language: the veto threat is only directed against Bulgaria and Romania.

“We must force the Commission to think again”
Interior Minister Karner has fallen on deaf ears in Brussels for months. In addition, he believes that Austria’s asylum problems are being ignored, unlike those of France or Italy. But Karner is also basically on the side of Croatia. He too can imagine his own solution. He sticks to the point: effective external border control is necessary. “This is something we must force the Commission to reconsider.”

And what could an asylum procedure look like? People who come from a safe third country, such as Indians or Tunisians, should no longer undergo individual assessment, but should be returned immediately. In return, a migration agreement must be negotiated with India so that workers can enter with the red-white-red card.