Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer insisted in Brussels today on the topic that a large number of migrants would arrive in Austria without being registered in Romania. “We know that some of them passed through Romania because the Austrian Police investigated it,” Nehammer claimed on Thursday, a week after the decision by which he blocked our country’s entry into Schengen.
Nehammer said on Thursday, before the European Council meeting in Brussels, that he had discussed the Schengen issue with President Klaus Iohannis, reiterating that he has nothing with Romania, but that it is “a security problem for the entire European Union”.
Asked, in Brussels, about Austria’s refusal to accept Romania in Schengen, Karl Nehammer reiterated the thesis of the “huge” number of migrants who arrived in Austria this year – 100,000, of which 75,000 were not registered by the other states through which they passed: “75,000 unregistered people arrived in Austria. We know that some of them passed through Romania because the Austrian Police investigated it. A solution must be found.”
When a journalist’s remark that these figures are disputed by the Romanian authorities, the Austrian chancellor replied: “But you know that the Romanian Police only knows those registered in Romania. In Austria we registered a huge number”.
The heads of state and government from the European Union are meeting in Brussels on Thursday, for the last summit scheduled for this year, to discuss in particular the consequences of the war in Ukraine and the EU’s relations with the USA.
Although the subject of Schengen is not on the official agenda of the meeting, President Klaus Iohannis said that he will raise this issue in the European Council. “I will raise the issue of Schengen. (…) It is, for once, very clear (…) that we, the Romanians, want to be part of the Schengen space. Integration in the Schengen area remains a national strategic objective and remains the main objective for me, as president of Romania, for the next period. (…) I saw that there are many public advisors who create expectations related to the Council of today and tomorrow. I can tell you right from the start that I will have many discussions, I will raise the issue in the Council plenary, I will explain once again why Romania must become part of the Schengen Area, but practical solutions will be found in the next JHA Council, which will be better prepared”, declared Klaus Iohannis on Wednesday.
Bulgarian president asks for solidarity, Nehammer wants fence built between Bulgaria and Turkey
The President of Bulgaria, Rumen Radev, is also advocating in Brussels for his country’s entry into Schengen, asking for solidarity: “Did you know that three Bulgarian border policemen were killed, shot, recently while protecting the external border of the EU?”. In reply, Karl Nehammer, Chancellor of Austria, says that Bulgaria needs a fence on the border with Turkey to be built with European money.
Bulgaria’s president said before Thursday’s meeting of the European Council in Brussels that the authorities in Sofia are “extremely committed to securing the border”.
Asked about the Austrian chancellor’s accusations that most migrants arriving in Austria come through Bulgaria without being registered, Radev replied: “I can’t argue with the numbers (regarding the number of migrants – n.r.), but I’m sure that most migrants arrive in Austria via other routes. Do you know that three Bulgarian border guards were killed, shot, recently while protecting the EU’s external border? These officers gave their lives to protect Europe’s external borders. We want solidarity”.
In retort, the chancellor of Austria, Karl Nehammer, said that he would like fences to be built at the EU’s external border with European money to put a brake on illegal migration and nominated Bulgaria in this regard, already calculating that Brussels should unlock two billion of euros for the fence that Sofia should erect on its borders, “Der Standard” reports.