“Security issue” – Edtstadler reaffirms no to Schengen extension

“With Sweden, a state is taking over the presidency of the Council of the European Union that has a lot of experience when it comes to high migration rates. That is why I am confident that Sweden will do everything possible under its presidency to keep this topic high on the agenda and to actually come up with solutions,” emphasizes Edtstadler. The Council Presidency must be an honest mediator, but “if you have experienced these things in your own country”, you make a special effort to find solutions for your own citizens.

Schengen area “does not work”
Edtstadler complained that the Schengen area “doesn’t work”. 75 percent of asylum seekers who came to Austria were not previously registered, although this was against European law. But she is happy that there is now “some movement in the debate” and that, for example, the EU Commission has presented an action plan for the Balkan route, which Austria is happy with. “We are in favor of keeping the subject in the spotlight,” said the minister. At EU level, there has been “rarely as much attention” to the migration issue as it is now.

On Thursday, EU interior ministers will vote on the extension of the Schengen area to Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia. Although the Netherlands and Sweden may have given up their opposition to Romania’s enlargement, the Austrian government is still holding on to it. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) reaffirmed today, Tuesday, Austria’s commitment to the blockade of Romania and Bulgaria to the Ö1 “Journal at eight”.

Responsibility of the Ministry of Justice and Migration
Roswall dodged questions about the Schengen expansion and referred to the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice and Migration. The Swedish Presidency considers it important “that progress is made”. Consider, for example, the decision on the migration pact, which the EU countries have been arguing about for years. “We have 350 files to negotiate and this will be the top priority,” she said when asked. In her opening speech, the conservative politician emphasized the strengthening of the EU’s internal market, the competitiveness of the European economy and support for Ukraine. Only at the request of Austrian journalists did she comment specifically on migration.

The migration issue contributed significantly to the result of the Social Democratic government in the parliamentary elections at the beginning of September. Roswall’s fellow party member Ulf Kristersson subsequently became head of government in a center-right government that also includes the right-wing populist Swedish Democrats. Although they do not provide ministers, they do leave their mark on the government’s program on the migration issue. The change of course is controversially discussed in the Swedish public.

Want to keep the EU budget as small as possible
Even under the Social Democratic government, Austria and Sweden worked closely together to keep the EU budget as small as possible. Two years ago, Edtstadler tried to expand the proven cooperation of the “Frugal Four” (Austria, Sweden, Netherlands, Denmark) with migration. The change of government in Sweden could now give new impetus to these efforts. “I think we’ll work together a little bit better because we’re from the same political family,” Roswall said. Edtstadler was happy that she now has “a very strong woman from the same political family” as a Swedish counterpart. But certain issues transcended partisan politics, she added.

Edtstadler wanted to visit the Swedish migration authorities and a detention and deportation center north of the Baltic Sea metropolis on Tuesday. She had already arrived in Stockholm on Monday afternoon. She met this year’s Nobel laureate in physics, Anton Zeilinger, who had come from Vienna on the same plane. Edtstadler then visited the headquarters of the telecom group Ericsson. There, in her role as a member of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’s Internet Governance Forum, she held talks on the global regulation of the Internet.

Edtstadler stands behind Chancellor Nehammer
In addition, Edtstadler clearly supported Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) on the first anniversary of his taking office. “Of course” the ÖVP will go into the next national election with Nehammer at the helm, Edtstadler told the APA in Stockholm on Tuesday. “Learning from others also does not mean repeating the negative things,” she said, referring to the leadership debate within the SPÖ.

“We have a strong Chancellor at the top who showed last year that he is crisis resistant, that he can really come up with solutions where many thought he couldn’t. With a strong Chancellor Karl Nehammer, we will too. go to the following years will pass until the next regular election date,” emphasized Edtstadler, who had already been traded as a possible candidate for Chancellor before the departure of Nehammer’s predecessor Sebastian Kurz.