“In all our talks with Turkey as heads of state, we should try to show Erdogan that there is no way he can do politics with this kind of military attacks, as he sometimes mentions when he talks about the islands,” stressed today Federal Chancellor of Austria Carl Nehammer at the Delphi Forum and added: “We can all see what aggression means if we look at the situation in Evros. Europe was united and this is the only answer to Turkey.” He underlined that “Austria is in complete agreement with the European financing of the wall on the Evros”.

In detail, on whether the European Union is doing enough to address the Turkish challenges against our country and the Cyprus issue, Carl Nehammer emphasized that: “It is absolutely necessary that Turkey be – and it is – a topic in every European Council. Prime Minister Mr. Mitsotakis always emphasizes how important it is to support Greece and in all our talks with Turkey as heads of state, we should try to show Erdogan that there is no way he can do politics with this kind of military attacks , as he sometimes mentions when he talks about the islands”. He emphasized that “We can all see what aggression means if we look at the situation in Evros. It was incredible what happened there. We sent a special unit, our police officers witnessed the situation in Evros and brought video evidence to Austria. Europe was united and this is the only answer to Turkey.”

Referring to the Evros fence, the Austrian chancellor said: “We absolutely agree and are trying to convince the Commission that the countries bordering Turkey should be financially supported. Austria is also under a lot of pressure, although it doesn’t border, so it doesn’t need to build a wall, but it totally agrees with financing the wall on the Ebro. Austria brought the issue together with the Netherlands to the Commission/Commission and pushed for the issue to be raised in the European Council, and it was done. It was the first time we had a non-confrontational debate between first or second-line immigration states, we stood together.” Karl Neuhammer also said that: “Austria supports the European Commission in supporting the countries, which must invest in the protection of their borders and with technical equipment. It is not only Greece, it is also Bulgaria which is dealing with illegal immigration. Its borders with Turkey have gaps, we have to protect it from the massive influx of immigrants, just like Greece and Italy.”

Karl Nehammer also said that he does not think that the new fiscal rules proposed by the Commission will lead to a north-south conflict in the European Union and he was in favor of accelerating the integration of the Western Balkans into the EU, but not Ukraine.

More specifically, Austrian Chancellor Karl Neuhammer said about austerity policies that “it is necessary to take the budget into account, but it is also necessary to protect citizens and help them directly in the crisis”, while on the question of whether the new fiscal rules which the Commission proposes will lead to a north-south conflict in the European Union, he answered: “I don’t think so. I believe that also because of the war in Ukraine, we have created a new culture in the European Council. We trust each other more. Each country tries to understand the other better than before. We have learned that standing together is the best way to fight against war.”

Asked what the war in Ukraine changes in terms of EU enlargement, he said: “First of all, Austria’s position is to give a strong perspective to the Western Balkan states. They have been waiting for a long time and are making great efforts such as e.g. North Macedonia, whose prime minister I met a few weeks ago. We must now show them that we want to bring them closer to the EU, do everything we can to speed up the enlargement process. It was a very good decision to create the European Political Community to bring the candidate countries closer to us.” However, “it is difficult for Austria to give a signal of a rapid process of starting accession negotiations in Ukraine”, as he said.

Finally, when asked what message he would like to send ahead of the elections to Mr. Mitsotakis’ party, which belongs to the European People’s Party like his own, he said: “It is a delicate matter because of my position as chancellor, but both the prime minister and Mitsotakis as well as the Minister of Immigration Mr. Mitarakis are my close friends. I know what they have done for illegal immigration, how much they have contributed to our cooperation, knowledge sharing, mutual support, and I wish everyone the best.”