Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) wants to extend border controls with Hungary and Slovenia for another six months. Current border controls will only run until May 11.
“We will inform the EU Commission in these days that we will have to extend these border controls because it is necessary to keep applying the asylum brake and prevent asylum abuse,” Karner said in the Ö1 “Morgenjournal”. Last year there was “an incredibly high migratory pressure”. “It was therefore necessary to continue these controls – which is what we are doing now.”
Controls are effective
The numbers fell sharply, which is also the “result of these checks”. In February of this year there were still 2,600 asylum applications, in November 2022 there were still 12,000. “And to continue on this consistent path, we also need to continue controls.” As long as the EU’s external border control does not work, these “costs in the millions” must be borne, “but that is necessary in the interest of the security of the Austrian population”.
Migration pressure in Slovenia and Italy has increased significantly in recent months and Austria must respond and prepare “in a timely manner” because we must avoid last year’s situation at all costs. The “pressure on the smugglers mafia” must be stepped up. This year – in the first quarter – about 80 people smugglers have already been arrested.
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.
