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Austria will wait for the results of the opening of the Schengen area for Bulgaria and Romania by air and water, and only then will it reflect on the opening of land borders. The statement was made by the Austrian Minister of the Interior, Gerhard Karner, before today’s meeting of relevant ministers in Brussels, reports Bulgarian public radio.
After long negotiations with Sofia and Bucharest, we reached a compromise at the end of last year, but we still don’t know how Schengen will work from the end of March, explained Karner. Anything else would be hasty and counterproductive.
The European Commission insists that Austria abandon the blockade of the two countries for their entry into the Schengen area and by land.
Among the conditions imposed by Vienna are that both countries take back registered refugees currently living in Austria, as well as guaranteeing security at the EU’s external borders and additional officers from the border agency Frontex.
Karner also said the EU should allow the extradition of asylum-seekers from Afghanistan and Syria.
“Almost two-thirds of the applications for status in our country come from citizens of these two countries,” claims Karner, who is a representative of the conservative People’s Party. A reply came immediately from the coalition partner, the Greens, according to which the interior minister did not express the government’s position. This year, parliamentary elections are held in Austria. In the polls, the far-right “Freedom Party” leads convincingly.
