Majority of Austrians concern over migrant crisis: survey

Sixty percent of Austrians hold fears and concerns over the constant influx of migrants as part of the present crisis affecting Europe, a new survey released Friday has claimed.

Conducted by Unique Research on behalf of the newspaper "Heute," the results showed that 35 percent of respondents wished for a complete stop to the migrant intake, 25 percent for less migrants than are currently accepted, 23 percent in favor of maintaining the present intake, and 8 percent in favor of allowing an even greater amount of migrants into the country, with the remainder choosing not to respond.

In terms of how to best tackle the crisis, 84 percent responded in favor of implementing controls on the European Union's outer borders, 77 percent were in favor of a quick repatriation of migrants, and 76 percent for transit zones on the borders.

Only 27 percent said they were in favor of the construction of a fence along Austria's shared border with Slovenia, across which the primary influx of migrants is presently occurring and as had been recently proposed by the Interior Minister, and an even lower 18 percent said they were in favor of a fence around the entirety of Austria.

Concerning problems the large influx of migrants would bring, 36 percent said they expected an impact on the job market, while other higher-ranking concerns were over impact on state finances (30 percent of respondents), daily life (27 percent), real estate (26 percent) and the domestic way of life (16 percent). Endit