Hardened fronts in the dispute over Austrian border controls to Slovenia’s southern Schengen neighbor. Austria had extended the controls by half a year in mid-May, which still causes great outrage in Ljubljana. Now the situation could really come to a head during the holiday season and annoy many tourists. On Tuesday there will be an explosive summit in the Federal Chancellery. Can this resolve the dispute?
One year after taking office, Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob will come to Vienna on Tuesday for his first bilateral visit. As announced by the Slovenian government, Golob will meet Chancellor Karl Nehammer and President of the National Council Wolfgang Sobotka (both ÖVP).
Slovenia angry: ‘Controls are incompatible with European law’
Central to the talks is the dispute over border controls. Slovenia argues that the controls are in violation of European law because Austria rarely picks up illegal migrants at the Slovenian border.
The latter is not disputed in Vienna. In the run-up to Golob’s visit, the Interior Ministry announced that the number of illegal migrants apprehended at the Austrian-Slovenian border had “even decreased”. However, the border controls are still “necessary to prevent a shift in smuggling routes towards Austria”.
Vienna: ‘Number of illegal border crossings to Slovenia increased’
The number of illegal border crossings into Slovenia has risen “drastically” this year. At the beginning of June, there were 16,131 people, compared to 4,598 people in the same period last year, it said. One reason for this is the dismantling of the approximately 300 kilometer long Slovenian border fence with Croatia. There was no mention that Croatia has been part of the Schengen area since the beginning of the year. Unlike in the case of Romania and Croatia, Austria had not vetoed this case.
EU Commission threatens Austria
Over the past eight years, Austria has repeatedly increased controls at its border with Slovenia due to the refugee crisis. Our neighbors are very dissatisfied with this. At the end of May, President Natasa Pirc Musar even threatened to involve the EU Commission in this dispute if “an agreement is not reached soon”. In mid-May, Brussels launched a “formal consultation process” with all EU countries involved. They are also prepared to take legal action, it said.
In the summer, kilometers of traffic jams threaten again
“I don’t want another summer season in which people roast in the tin hose, although Slovenia and Austria are both in the Schengen area and you have to rush across the border,” the passionate motorcyclist said in conversation with Federal President Alexander van der Bellen at the time. According to her, the fight against illegal migration can be conducted “with less drastic measures”, she said.
departure from Schallenberg
Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg has so far always rejected the desire to end border controls. “Of course we would also like to have a Schengen area as it should be, namely a border-free area. But we have the reality that, for example, Germany has just applied for the extension of its border controls with Austria and we must also have controls with other neighboring countries,” he said at the end of April.
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.
