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Austrian chancellor defends border protection measures amid German, EU criticism

Xinhua, February 24, 2016 Adjust font size:

Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann on Tuesday defended his government's position over the refugee crisis against criticism from both the German government and the European Union (EU).

Faymann, joined at a press conference by Vice-Chancellor Reinhold Mitterlehner, rejected recent criticism from German Minister of the Interior Thomas de Maiziere that Austria allows too many asylum seekers to pass through its territory and onward to Germany.

The Austrian government imposed the limit on transitory asylum seekers at 3,200 from Friday last week, the majority of whom usually travel to the neighboring country.

Faymann said that Germany should decide how many asylum seekers it will allow to cross over from Austria, but if it does not state a figure and would prefer to focus on a solution to the crisis in Turkey, he respects this position.

Germany and the EU should also respect Austria's position, he added.

The chancellor also criticized that asylum seekers are allowed to be "waved through" Greece and Balkans countries, but that this practice is criticized once they arrive in Austria.

He made renewed calls for a joint European solution to the crisis, noting that Austria's border protection measures are a necessary "Plan B," and reiterated that despite its new upper limit on asylum seeker numbers, it has already taken in a significant amount of them. Endit