Hungary releases 2,500 captured human smugglers, in Greece refugees are dumped on the open sea by the coastguard. Europe is overwhelmed by migration and is sliding into a new asylum crisis.
Actually, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán should be an ally of Austria in the fight against illegal migration. Despite many warnings, the government had chosen to cooperate with Orbán. Joint border patrols were deployed on the Hungarian-Serbian border.
House blessing between Vienna and Budapest is crooked
Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) has met Orbán several times. But since Friday, the house blessing between Austria and Hungary has been crooked. Because Orbán released 2,500 smugglers. The only condition is that they leave Hungary within 72 hours.
The announcement came as a complete surprise to the Interior Ministry. Orbán’s step in the fight against human trafficking is a setback.
What does the Ministry of the Interior want to do about the tense asylum situation?
- Die border controls were reinforced. The focus is on the inspection of vehicles from Serbia, Romania and Hungary.
- Austria threatens Hungary: it is being investigated whether further police cooperation is possible. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner will meet with colleagues from Germany and Denmark next week. His goal: one Plan for asylum procedures outside the EU under pressure from Germany and Denmark.
Brutal relapse in Greece
But that is not the only asylum problem in the EU. There is evidence of brutal pushbacks in Greece. The New York Times has videos showing asylum seekers being pushed back to Turkey at sea by the Greek Coast Guard. On the island of Lesbos, people were arrested by hooded men. A van was carrying 12 people, including a baby, on a speedboat. At sea, they were left on a raft by the Greek coastguard.
The number of asylum seekers is falling in Austria, but has recently increased in the EU
In April, 3,467 asylum applications were submitted in Austria. According to the Ministry of the Interior, this corresponds to a decrease of 33 percent compared to April 2022, when 5,162 asylum applications were submitted. A total of 13,634 asylum applications have been submitted since the beginning of the year, a decrease of about 18 percent compared to the same period last year. This positive development in Austria is attributed to consistent border controls and border area controls in Austria. International cooperation – such as closing the so-called visa route for Indians and Tunisians via Serbia – is also having an effect.
The situation within the EU is different. At the end of April, there were 324,000 applications across the EU, an increase of 34 percent, with Germany (plus 87 percent), Italy (plus 63 percent) and France (plus 52 percent) particularly affected.
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.
