Passengers should not be disturbed and smugglers should not be fought, said Interior Minister Gerhard Karner during a visit to his Slovak counterpart.
Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) promised to extend extraordinary controls on the Schengen border with Slovakia “as long as necessary”. During the first visit of his new Slovak counterpart Matúš Šutaj Eštok to Vienna on Thursday, Karner said they wanted to do this in a way that would not inconvenience passengers and combat traffickers.
“Border controls have a domino effect” for other countries to also introduce them, said Šutaj Eštok. He is therefore in favor of stopping the controls as quickly as possible. However, the Slovak Interior Minister admitted that additional measures would be needed by the EU to protect external borders.
Šutaj Eštok: Numbers on illegal migration are “alarming”
Šutaj Eštok described the illegal migration figures in Slovakia as “alarming”. Compared to the previous year, your country recorded an increase of 430 percent. Slovakia will do everything to stop being a safe transit country for illegal migration, he said. “We will protect the border between Slovakia and Austria.”
The two ministers signed an agreement that will facilitate the possibility of secret investigations into cross-border crimes, Karner said. He described the police work so far as successful. So far this year, 19 smugglers have been detained and 200 people have been stopped from crossing the border illegally.
According to statements from both interior ministers, the expansion of Schengen to include Bulgaria and Romania was not discussed. However, Karner once again made clear his rejection of accepting new Schengen members. When asked if a decision would be ready in December, Karner said, “I don’t think it makes sense to expand something that doesn’t work.” The fact that Schengen is not working is also demonstrated by the fact that eleven member states are currently carrying out internal border controls.
Karner also called for progress on the EU’s Asylum and Migration Pact, especially on key points of external border protection, faster external border procedures and cooperation with third countries. In Europe, illegal migration numbers are still high, with a 25 percent increase, Karner said. Austria, on the other hand, recorded a 50 percent decline.
Šutaj Eštok said the European Union is “failing” Schengen. Slovakia is in favor of enlargement, but countries wishing to join must meet the necessary strict criteria.
The content of the working discussion also included preparation for the upcoming Visegrad meeting in Szeged, on the Hungarian-Serbian border, in which Karner intends to participate. Germany is also invited to the meeting. (APA)