The ÖVP wants to keep the topic of illegal migration boiling by rejecting the Schengen expansion. Interior Minister Karner threatened to veto it. The European Parliament is clear for the admission of Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria.
Zoran Milanovic is upset. In a one-on-one meeting with Chancellor Karl Nehammer in Zagreb today, Croatia’s President wants to campaign vehemently for his country’s accession to Schengen – a plan that Interior Minister Gerhard Karner rejects, as does the EU Commission’s desire for Bulgaria to join and Romania in the border-free area.
Before the visit to Croatia, Nehammer put his interior minister’s veto threat into perspective, at least in relation to Croatia: “We hardly feel any migration pressure from Croatia to the north. Since Croatia is exemplary in border protection, I don’t see a problem there. About the countries yes individually coordinated,” said Nehammer of the “Kleine Zeitung” on Tuesday in Klagenfurt.
The ÖVP’s rather negative position on a Schengen extension is quickly explained: the number of asylum seekers in the country has been rising sharply for months. According to government figures, 96,000 asylum applications have already been filed in the current year. According to the People’s Party, the threat of a veto is intended to draw attention to this problem.
However, a large part of the migrants does not travel via Croatia, but via the non-EU country Serbia and further via Hungary: Belgrade Airport is considered a hub for Indians who (still) enjoy visa-free travel in Serbia.