VIENNA, Sept 23, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz
warned Tuesday against any attempt to force EU countries to take in asylum-
seekers as the European Commission prepared to unveil a new strategy for
handling migration to the bloc.
Speaking to AFP in an exclusive interview, Kurz alluded to previous
efforts by the European Commission to introduce mandatory quotas for refugees
for all EU members, which were rejected by many eastern and central European
countries.
“We find that the distribution in Europe (of asylum seekers) has failed
and many states reject this. It won’t work like this,” the 34-year-old
conservative leader said.
On Wednesday, Brussels will launch its latest proposal for EU asylum
policy.
Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson wants the 27 member states to
share the burden of handling asylum claims from migrants who arrive mostly on
the bloc’s southern shores in Greece, Italy and Spain.
She has again raised the idea of mandatory sharing, though this might not
mean resettling refugees around the bloc, but rather forcing all states to
contribute to the system — by helping with efforts to return failed asylum
seekers, for example.
European migration policy was again in the headlines earlier this month
following a devastating fire at an overcrowded camp for migrants and asylum
seekers on the Greek island of Lesbos which left thousands homeless.
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said last week that the new
proposals would include plans to strengthen border security and return failed
asylum seekers, which Kurz and allies are in favour of, while also including
“a new strong solidarity mechanism.”
– Seeking alliances –
Kurz said he welcomed that the European Commission was addressing the
topic of asylum and migration.
“We can only solve this topic all together… Better protection of the
(EU’s) outer borders, a joined fight against smugglers, but also joined aid
where it is needed (in countries where refugees come from), that is the path
that is needed,” he said.
Austria and other smaller countries — some of them, such as Hungary,
criticised by Brussels over their anti-immigration stance and on rule-of-law
issues — have spoken out in the past against any mandatory asylum-seeker
distribution.
Kurz, pushing to make his mark in European politics, has also sought
allies on other topics, such as when he worked with the Netherlands, Sweden
and Denmark — as the so-called “Frugal Four” — to oppose direct EU aid to
coronavirus-hit countries as proposed by Germany and France.
“The European Union is more than just Germany and France… As a small or
medium-sized state of course one has to always look for alliances, and in an
EU with 27 member states one can only assert ideas if there are others that
support them,” he told AFP in an office in the chancellery.
– Coronavirus ‘challenge’ –
Kurz became the world’s youngest chancellor when his conservative People’s
Party (OeVP) formed a coalition government with the far-right Freedom Party
(FPOe) in 2017.
The coalition fell apart in 2019 after a corruption scandal engulfed the
far-right FPOe leader, leading to fresh elections in which Kurz’s party again
gathered the most votes.
Kurz then formed a new coalition with the Greens and has governed the
Alpine country of nearly nine million people since January.
Kurz said fighting the coronavirus pandemic was “a very big challenge”.
“I am still relatively young, but I have been part of the Austrian
government for many years and I thought I had already been through a lot
politically… The corona crisis now exceeds all previous experiences of
course,” he said.
The country has so far been spared the brunt of the crisis, reporting
almost 40,000 cases with 771 deaths to date, but infections have surged again
in recent weeks.
This has led to the government to extend mandatory mask wearing and re-
instate some of the other restrictions imposed earlier this year to stem the
spread of the virus.