Austria Firm on Its Stance Against Expansion of Schengen Area
Chancellor Nehammer travelled to Bulgaria earlier this week where he met the President of Bulgaria Rumen Radev and together they visited the border of Bulgaria with Türkiye.
During his visit, Chancellor Nehammer stressed that Austria has concerns over illegal migration and at the same time pointed out that the Schengen area cannot be expanded at the moment as the system is in a major crisis, AtoZSerwisPlus.com reports.
Despite making such a statement, Nehammer explained that Austria’s Schengen veto is not directed against a specific country and noted that Bulgaria must be offered support in protecting its external borders.
“It is clear that our Schengen veto is not directed against a country, but that the Schengen area does not work and cannot be expanded at the moment. In order to be able to reopen internal borders, Bulgaria must be supported in effectively protecting the external borders,” Nehammer wrote on his official Twitter account.
According to the Associated Press, Chancellor Nehammer said that the protection of the Bulgarian-Turkish border is also the protection of the border of Austria. For this reason, Austria has decided to support the request of Bulgaria for €2 billion to purchase equipment as well as to improve the infrastructure at the border.
Apart from saying that this is not the right time for the EU’s visa-free Schengen area expansion, Chancellor Nehammer also called for legislative changes in order to permit police officers to act effectively and on a common policy.
AP explains that Chancellor Nehammer further said that the EU needs to give a clear sign that the frontline countries are not left alone in facing illegal migration and other problems related to it.
“We need a clear signal at the European level that the front-line countries in the face of migrant pressure are not left alone to deal with this problem,” Chancellor Nehammer stressed.
