Austria tells Balkans to curb refugee flow
Date
2/11/2016 9:11:33 AM
(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) Croatian Interior Minister Vlaho Orepic said trains will begin transporting refugees directly from the Macedonia-Greece border to Austria without stopping in any countries on the way.
The move came two days after Macedonian Army began erecting a new 37 km-long fence on the border with Greece to prevent refugees and migrants from entering the country illegally.
The new longer and taller fence is being erected just five meters away from the existing one built last November. Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz said in Belgrade that as his country acted to reduce the influx of refugees Balkan countries should do the same.
After Austria last year accepted 90000 people it is limiting the number to 37500 in 2016 Kurz said on Tuesday following a meeting with Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic.
The Austrian minister also said his country was "aware of the consequences this could cause” on the migrant route that runs from Greece through Macedonia Serbia Croatia and Slovenia.
The new moves in the Balkans come as new wave of refugees from Syria gathers on the Turkish border after an estimated 70000 people fled fighting around the key city of Aleppo.
Macedonia along with Serbia Croatia and Slovenia introduced a stricter border policy on November 18. Since then it has only allowed refugees from war-torn Syria Iraq and Afghanistan to enter the country.
The authorities have pushed back to Greece thousands of people from other countries treating them as economic migrants ignoring any claim they may have to asylum.
Two weeks ago Macedonia welcomed a Slovene plan for increased security on Macedonia's border with Greece aimed at stemming the flow of migrants moving towards Western Europe.
The Slovenian plan which the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker also praised envisages that most of the migrants now entering Greece will stay there.
This would reduce pressure on Western Balkan countries that lie on the refugee route and ultimately curb the flow of migrants to destination countries like Germany and Austria.
The director of Serbia's Centre for Protection and Assistance to Asylum Seekers Rados Djurovic said Kurz was conducting a Balkan tour to inform the countries on the migrant route of the latest developments.
"Macedonia and Serbia cannot be left alone in this. Refugees are already going back to Belgrade and other places because they have nowhere else to go" Djurovic told BIRN.
There were growing calls for Serbia Macedonia and Bulgaria to serve as a second barrier stopping the influx of refugees to Europe owing to increased impatience with Greece.
The majority of migrants fleeing conflicts in the Middle East Asia and Northern Africa are trying to reach Germany or other wealthy EU states.
The Balkans serves only as a transit route. However Djurovic warned that people in Serbia and other Balkan countries have to be aware and informed that some of the migrants might stay there.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.