Common Austrian-Greek front for stronger protection of the EU borders

Amid the ongoing immigration crisis on the border with Belarus, Austria is calling for a more rigid European border control system to reduce the number of migrants arriving at the bloc. Together with Greece, Poland and Lithuania, Austria is launching a border protection conference in Vilnius to give its initiative more political weight.

“We want to form alliances of logic,” said Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Corner. “Member States should focus on immigration on those issues on which there is agreement,” he added, stressing that the EU should focus on establishing a strong regime for the protection of external borders and the rapid repatriation of irregular migrants. His Lithuanian counterpart, Agne Bilotaite, added that the current immigration crisis shows that “non-democratic states” can use the control of “immigration flows” as a “political weapon”.

The four countries sharing the same ideas are not only inviting all EU Member States to Friday’s conference, but also various EU institutions, such as representatives of the European Commission, the European Parliament, Europol and its border control service. EU, Frontex.

The Austrian call for a “coalition of reason” comes a day after Carner made clear her strong opposition to the new German government’s more immigrant-friendly asylum approach. Last week, German Interior Minister Nancy Pfizer called for a “coalition of host states” to begin further development of the EU-Asylum system. “I strongly oppose such efforts,” Corner told the German newspaper Bild. Austria has long criticized the EU’s approach to immigration and has repeatedly called for stricter immigration rules.

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