The European Union has threatened Austria that it will take legal action regarding Austria’s border controls kept in place on the shared border with Slovenia.
The Commission has said that the reintroduction of border controls should remain an exception, strictly limited in time and a last resort, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
Following the “high migratory pressure”, Austria’s Interior Minister, Gerhard Karner, announced that his country would extend controls at its shared border with Slovenia and Hungary for another six months, starting from May 11.
Karner considered such a measure needed after, in the last year, authorities in Austria received more than 110,000 asylum applications, emphasizing that it was necessary to continue the border checks.
“In February of this year, we had 2,600 asylum applications, while in November last year, there were 12,000 asylum applications…in order to continue on this consistent path, the controls must be continued,” he pointed out.
According to the Minister, the border controls contributed to a decrease in the number of migrants attempting to reach this country illegally.
Austria’s decision was not welcomed in Ljubljana. Soon after Austria’s announcement, the President of Slovenia, Natasa Pirc Musar, warned Vienna that if the border controls remained in place, Slovenia would take the matter to Brussels.
If we don’t reach an agreement soon, I fear that the first measure will be a notification to the EU Commission and corresponding further steps within the Brussels administration,” the Slovenian President told APA news agency.
Pirc Musar stressed that following years of repeated extensions, Austrian authorities have no argument at all for keeping border controls in place, emphasizing that Slovenia has shown in the past few years that it can be patient and is interested in finding a solution to problems in a different way.
Slovenian President has emphasized that she was saddened that Austria does not respect European legal order on this point.
Pressure related to the asylum reception system, threat of arms trafficking and criminal networks as a result of the war in Ukraine, as well as high migratory pressure at the European Union’s external border to Turkey and the Western Balkans are among the reasons that led authorities in Austria to introduce land border controls with Slovenia and Austria that will be effective from May 12 until November 11, 2023.
In April this year, the Austrian Minister of Interior said that Austria would inform the European Commission that such a decision should be taken in order to prevent the abuse of asylum.