MeterThe iconic image of the Prime Minister of Hungary is a railway wagon loaded with barbed wire Victor Orban Six years ago, the route that allowed hundreds of thousands of immigrants to pass through his country was clearly closed. Sebastian Kurz, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of a neighboring country at the time, boasted that he “closed the Balkan route” by coordinating border protection measures from Macedonia to Austria-a reputation that brought him to Vienna. Federal Chancellery.
The recognition that emerged today is even more surprising: more and more people are coming to Austria through the Balkans as illegal immigrants, and to a large extent, Hungary is the last transit country. Already—especially in domestic political games—have evoked memories of 2015, and therefore the so-called 2015. Refugee crisis.
Austria is a country of transit and destination
According to the Vienna Ministry of Interior, as of the end of July, a total of 16,300 “illegal immigrants have been arrested” this year. This is a significant increase from the 21,700 seizures in 2020. Of course, there may be a large number of unreported cases. These people traveled through Austria undetected, and may use Germany as their destination country. But Austria is more than just a transit country. So far this year, about 10,500 people have applied for asylum on their own. In the first two years, they were 14,775 and 12,886, and they are still increasing.
Every Tuesday
Most illegal immigrants were captured in Vienna, Lower Austria, and Burgenland (that is, eastern Austria). This is already a sign, covered by the realization of the authorities, according to the instructions, almost all current immigration is carried out through Hungary. The immigrants will get there through Serbia and sometimes through Romania, which means a detour, but the advantage is that the border between Hungary and Romania is almost unfortified. According to a spokesperson for the Austrian Ministry of Interior, most immigrants have long lived in Western Balkan countries such as Bosnia and Serbia.
Smugglers propagate a pandemic
According to the Ministry, a new factor is emerging: therefore, smuggling organizations are pushing to continue travel from transit countries, because in any case only a few immigrants want to stay in Serbia or Bosnia permanently. They also promote the evolution of the pandemic. “In countries like Germany or Austria, health care is much better,” is the motto. These are usually organizations that immigrants have already contacted, and they have been transported twice: the first time across the sea, then from Greece to the Balkans, and now the third time to Austria.
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Therefore, the Vienna government recently received a military audio recording from the Minister of the Interior. Carl Nehammer And the Minister of Defense Claudia Tanner (a politician of the ÖVP party to which the two prime ministers belong) announced the reinforcement of the eastern border troops. The armed forces, which have served as border guards since 2015, have 1,200 to 1,400 soldiers there. According to the Ministry of the Interior, the police are visiting multiple units, including a technical department equipped with a modern drone reconnaissance system.
Incisive words from the governor of SPÖ
According to the Ministry of the Interior, the main focus is to combat human smuggling, not to pick up immigrants who would otherwise apply for asylum sooner or later. “This is a signal that it is not worth dragging to Austria. This will not work immediately, but it will only work for a long time.” In 2021, so far, more than 200 human smugglers have been captured. This is an increase of 50% over the same period last year. “This shows the success of increasing the number of users,” it said.
SPÖ politician Hans Peter Doskozil (Hans Peter Doskozil), former Minister of Defense and current Governor of Burgenland, severely criticized the government for downplaying the situation. Doskozier said on ORF radio this week that you have not learned anything from the past. The Minister of the Interior did not prepare for this situation, which reminded the refugee crisis of 2015. Balkan Route “It’s just a public relations stunt by the Federal Chancellor.”
Last but not least, this should be an internal party signal for the next election campaign.It’s not the first time Doskozier has tried to do this when he clashed with the leadership of the Social Democratic Party under Pamela Rendi-Wagner. vice president Overtake on the right.
