Following the latest criticism from Bavaria, Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) has intensified the dispute over the treatment of rejected migrants at the German-Austrian border. He stressed to krone.at on Friday: “I have instructed the director of the Federal Police not to carry out any takeovers!”
On Thursday, Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU) criticized Karner’s announcement that he would not accept migrants who had been rejected by Germany at the border. For him, the refusal misses the point: the legal situation is clear, Herrmann said in an interview with ‘Welt’.
Bavarian Interior Minister: Legal situation clear
“It is not a question of whether Austria takes someone back, but whether Germany refuses to let someone into the country. And if Germany refuses to let someone into the country, then the person concerned is still in the neighboring country and has not entered the country back.”
Germans want extensive border rejections
The German federal government has ordered additional border controls from Monday and is also considering expanded rejections of migrants at Germany’s borders.
Karner challenges Germans: “There is no room for maneuver!”
Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) had previously announced opposition. “Austria will not accept people who are rejected from Germany. There is no room for manoeuvre! That is the current law. Rejections as part of internal border controls are not permitted under EU law.”
Applicable EU law
In principle, he assumes that EU member states will comply with applicable EU law. “This means that people who apply for asylum should not be informally rejected at the border,” Karner emphasizes.
If there are indications that another Member State is responsible under the rules of the Dublin III Regulation, a formal Dublin consultation procedure should be launched, he said. “A transfer can only take place after the consent of the Member State concerned.”
Karner threatens Germany
Karner is therefore putting the rod in Germany’s window: “The Ministry of the Interior on Thursday once again instructed the affected state police forces not to accept any entry denials from German authorities that violate EU law and to report any observations immediately.”
Only then are rejections possible
According to the Minister of the Interior, rejections are only possible under certain conditions, “for example, if they are EU citizens with a residence ban”. There have been around 700 rejections in Austria so far this year.
Karner also praises Austria’s fight against smugglers and illegal migration: “This year, police at Burgenland’s border with Hungary arrested around 1,000 people after they crossed the border illegally. So there are hardly any transit movements via Austria to Germany.”
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.
