Austrian official opposes upper limit on asylum seeker intake

An Austrian official on Tuesday has spoken out against imposing a cap on the number of asylum seekers his country takes in.

It's not true that "we cannot take in any more asylum seekers after a certain limit," Christian Konrad told the Salzburger Nachrichten newspaper.

Regarding the 90,000 asylum applications that were made in Austria in 2015, Konrad said this represents only one asylum seeker per 100 Austrians, and that even if this repeats in 2016, it will make "two in 100."

"It is not as if we are being overflooded," he added.

Konrad was responding to repeated calls over the past few days from the coalition government that the number of asylum seekers must be reduced.

While social aid to those willing to integrate could be cut and economic migrants be deported, he said a duty to those entitled to asylum must be fulfilled.

For this, he said humane accommodation for extended periods of time must be established, such as cheaper prefabricated buildings that could house 60 to 80 people and could be used as retirement homes or kindergartens after the refugee crisis.

Konrad said a joint solution to the crisis must be offered at the EU level, for which a summit should soon be held, and he called on the Austrian government to exert "massive pressure" for a positive outcome. Endi