EU Commissioner of the Interior Ylva Johansson wants to resolve the dispute over EU funds for border fences “pragmatically”. Building walls and fences of barbed wire is not a solution, Johansson stressed to the APA and other media on Tuesday. “But we need to protect our external borders and use EU funds as effectively as possible, so I’m not ruling out physical infrastructure.” Her spokesperson later clarified that these are not fences and walls.
Some EU countries – including Austria – have long demanded that the European Commission also fund the construction of border fences at the EU’s external borders. Recently, Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) pushed for two billion euros from the EU Commission for the extension of the border fence in Bulgaria. However, the European Commission refuses to provide money for the construction of physical barriers.
“Don’t finance walls and barbed wire”
“We have long had a policy of not funding walls and barbed wire, and I don’t think that should be changed,” Johansson said in the interview organized by the European Newsroom (ENR). “But we have to be pragmatic,” the commissioner added, without giving details.
Johansson also referred to her budget: “I have six billion euros for the border control of 27 Member States for seven years,” said the Commissioner. “We cannot finance everything that member states want.” EU funds are currently being used to finance border guards, for example.
Collaboration instead of “boundary symbolism”
To control migration, “we need to reach people long before they reach our external borders,” says the Swede. As an example, Johansson cited the Taliban’s takeover of power in Afghanistan in 2021, from which the EU said the EU had brought 36,000 refugees to Europe. “Sometimes it is too great a risk to attach too much symbolism to the border and to neglect the importance of cooperation with partner countries,” said the EU Commissioner.
Johansson reiterated that Bulgaria and Romania have “fulfilled all the conditions” to join the border-free Schengen area. She believes in an ‘imminent’ accession. Austria and the Netherlands had blocked the accession of the two countries.
Commissioner warns Austria
Not in this context, the EU Commissioner stressed, but with regard to Schengen, she was concerned about the situation in Austria, where 75 percent of irregularly arrived migrants were not registered. “It is important to focus on a better functioning Schengen, including the Dublin Regulation,” said Johansson. According to the Dublin Regulation, the country of first reception in the EU would be responsible for asylum procedures.
Source: Krone
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