Austrian chancellor content with EU refugee quota decision

Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann has declared his support for the decision by European Union (EU) interior ministers Tuesday to distribute 120,000 refugees across the EU as part of a quota plan as a result of a majority vote.

In an interview with radio program Oe1 Mittagsjournal on state broadcaster ORF on Wednesday, Faymann said he was also not expecting the decision to change at the European Council meeting of heads of state or government later in the day.

As the meeting is of an informal nature he said he did not expect there would be any further polls, and that otherwise the decisions that had been made Tuesday would go on to count legally.

He once again took aim at the Central and Eastern European countries who have been opposed to a refugee quota plan, and made a renewed threat of potential cuts to funding programs to said countries.

As Austria is a net financial contributor to the EU it is in a position to use the financial framework of the union to say "solidarity is not a one-way street," he said.

The discussion over the issue would continue, he said, and noted that more countries are now willing to contribute to a solution than did three weeks ago.

The chancellor said overall however more than the figure of 120,000 refugees will have to be distributed among EU countries, if the borders of the union are to be secured.

He stressed that the right to asylum must remain, and that it is important to make it clear on the outer borders of the EU that those with the right to asylum can obtain it, while those who do not have it cannot be given false hopes. Enditem