Legal opinion backs Austria's migrant cap: Paper
Date
3/15/2016 10:15:23 AM
(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Migrants wait to board a train at a transit camp near Gevgelija Macedonia February 18 2016. Reuters
VIENNA: A cap on asylum claimsannounced by Austria in January does not break European Unionlaw according to a legal opinion commissioned by the Austriangovernment daily Oberoesterreichische Nachrichten said onTuesday citing government sources.
Austria which has a population of 8.4 million and last yearreceived 90000 applications for asylum has said it will limitthe number of refugees it accepts this year to 37500.
The Austrian government was not immediately available forcomment on the report. Oberoesterreichische Nachrichten said thelegal opinion would be published no earlier than mid-week.
The newspaper said European law specialist Walter Obwexerand Bernd-Christian Funk a specialist on constitutional lawhad confirmed that capping asylum claims was legal.
They referred in particular to Article 72 of the EuropeanUnion Treaty which allows intervention in fundamental freedomsand EU rules if national sovereignty is at risk it said.Limiting asylum claims at Austria's southern border to 80 perday could meanwhile be justified for "technical reasons".
Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann has urged Germany to seta clear limit on the number of asylum seekers it will accept tohelp stem the unprecedented influx of migrants that is severely
testing European cohesion.
Reuters