Is this enforceable? – Isolated in the EU: the chancellor’s fence in the fact check

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Chancellor Karl Nehammer wants the taboo on the border fence to be lifted. But is that enforceable within the EU? A check.

The European border – it stretches from the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean to the Central Mediterranean to the Bialowiesza Forest in Poland. Migration expert Gerald Knaus speaks of the “deadliest border in the world”. In 2021 alone, 2,000 people disappeared while crossing the Mediterranean.

These facts show that the EU cannot be closed off with a fence, as EU minister Karoline Edtstadler proposes. The “Krone” wondered what effect a fence would have as a border guard:

Is a fence compatible with EU law?
A border fence would not be illegal. “This is not a scandalous proposal from a legal point of view. There are many countries, such as Poland, Hungary, Lithuania, Estonia, that have built a border fence,” says Knaus. So far, the EU has refused to fund border fences. What is illegal is push-backs at the border. So the fence is less of an issue. “It would be more important for Austria to show at the border fences how border management should take place,” said Knaus.

Othmar Karas, the Austrian Vice-President of the EU Parliament, is also skeptical about the border fence: “Yes, we need protection at the external borders. But a border fence does not solve any problem. He does not register, he does not differentiate, he only gives an image of powerlessness.”

Is a fence effective?
It would have to be high tech to have a deterrent effect. Despite the border fence in Hungary, Austria has the highest number of asylum applications. “That doesn’t solve the problem either,” says Knaus.

Where should the border fence go?
Karoline Edtstadler spoke about the entire external border of the EU. Nehammer confined it mainly to the Bulgarian-Turkish border. This is 270 kilometers long. There’s already a border fence here.

How is Karl Nehammer’s proposal evaluated in the EU?
Nehammer was able to book a small success yesterday. The EU announced that the EU’s multiannual financial framework for the years 2021 to 2027 has earmarked €205 million for surveillance equipment and training measures for Bulgaria. However, the chancellor demanded two billion on Thursday. Nevertheless, the EU believes that Nehammer’s offensive is happening right now because the chancellor urgently needs the maneuver at home. “It is a desperate attempt to revive the old strength of the ÖVP,” said political analyst Thomas Hofer. The script from 2015/2016 is back.

Source: Krone

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