EU interior ministers will discuss the implementation of the EU asylum and migration pact on Thursday. The focus is also on the expansion of the Schengen area, as requested by Romania and Bulgaria, to include their two countries.
“We have to look at how Air Schengen works. Then we can discuss the next steps,” said Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP), confirming the Austrian position before the council meeting.
According to EU diplomats, the representatives of Romania and Bulgaria are likely to demand their full inclusion in the Schengen area again. Austria is currently blocking the unanimous decision in the Council. The newly elected Dutch right-wing government has not yet commented on a new blockade. As a first step, the air and sea borders were opened at the end of March (“Air Schengen”). “We have more Schengen controls than ever before,” Karner emphasized. He mentioned the European Championships and the Olympic Games as examples. Germany and France are therefore strengthening border protection.
Reinforced Schengen area, external border controls
“Austria wants what we all want: a strengthened Schengen area and external border controls – that is what we are working for,” said Belgian Minister of the Interior and current representative of the Council Presidency, Annelies Verlinden: “We have a fully functioning Schengen area, of course while ensuring the safety of our citizens.” EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson stressed that Romania and Bulgaria are “Schengen members”: “Internal border controls still need to be lifted, which is expected to happen this year. years,” she said confidently.
Johansson will also present her implementation plan for the EU Asylum and Migration Pact to ministers today. This provides the framework for the national implementation plans, which Member States must submit in December. With the Asylum Pact, it is now “necessary to take concrete action, to implement the pact with functioning external borders, fast procedures and cooperation with safe third countries: we must keep an eye on this so that there is less pressure on the external borders” , Karner said.
Promote repatriations
The Austrian Interior Minister also wants to “consistently raise the issue of returns to Syria and Afghanistan” and has the support of his German counterpart Nancy Faeser. There are also “ideas for the deportation of Afghan and Syrian criminals” in Germany, she told journalists before the meeting in Luxembourg. Karner told the German daily Die Welt (Thursday) that he believed “a European solution to this problem” would be best.
“All 27 EU countries want to quickly start implementing the asylum pact,” said EU Commissioner Johansson. She spoke of “good news” and said there had been a “steady increase in the number of repatriations”. Many states have already started implementing the pact.
Extended protection status for Ukrainians
Legal acts to combat child sexual abuse and to further expand the temporary protection of people who have fled Ukraine from the Russian war of aggression are also on the busy agenda. Ukrainians in need of protection are currently allowed to remain in the EU until March 4, 2025. On Tuesday, the European Commission proposed an extension until March 2026. According to EU diplomats, no final agreement is expected on the first proposal; the extended protection status for Ukrainians is likely to be approved.
Source: Krone
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