Interview: Mayor of Salzburg expects refugee influx to continue

While there is a present lull in the flow of refugees passing through Salzburg since the closure of the Balkan migrant route, this will likely not last, the mayor of one of the Austrian cities most affected by the refugee crisis has said.

At present, only about 50 people per day are arriving in Salzburg, compared to about 350,000 who arrived in a three-month period beginning in the fall of last year, mayor Heinz Schaden said in an interview with Xinhua.

Schaden argued, however, that as long as the reasons for the refugee crisis continued to exist it would not be over, and that there were at present no signs that the underlying crises responsible for triggering the situation would be resolved. He thus expected more refugees to come into Europe in the coming month.

There was also no telling if the closure of the Balkans route would hold, he said, particularly if a situation were to arise wherein tens of thousands of people would attempt to push through. They may also resort to alternate routes such as through Russia and Norway.

Salzburg said he learned some important lessons from the initial onset of the crisis in 2015 when authorities were not prepared for the onslaught of people arriving. Since then, three hotspots have been established, at the central train station in Salzburg, along the freeway to the nearby German border, and on the Austrian-German border.

These contain all the provisions necessary to cater for refugees - tents, medical supplies, clothes, and food and are run as part of a collaborative effort involving employees from the city of Salzburg, the military, police, Austrian Red Cross, and volunteers, he said.

He said he "sincerely hopes" the proposed EU pact with Turkey to tackle the crisis would be successful, but expressed doubt due to the domestic difficulties the country was currently facing.

However, should it work and Turkey were to take a significant number of refugees from Greece, it would go a considerable way to mitigating the crisis. But this would still be a "long and steep road," he said.

Schaden said one of worst aspects of the present crisis had been the reinstatement of border controls, arguing that the Schengen treaty had been a high-point of the European Union project thus far, and its present suspension an "unpleasant experience."

This has been seen both through its effect on both the transport of goods and people, the latter particularly in a city heavily reliant on tourism. Trucks wishing to cross the border into Germany are now delayed for about half an hour, and he said people may now think twice before visiting Salzburg or Austria in general.

In addition, the closures had impacted many aspects of "daily life," he said.

He added that the situation was an "historic period" in Europe that at worst could result in the break up of the union, something he would "deeply regret."

He argued against the implementation of border controls at other sites such as Tyrol, and reiterated his view that the Schengen system was one of the European Union's greatest assets.

"If we crash and smash the Schengen system we smash Europe in the long run, and that shouldn't be," he added.

Schaden said he was puzzled by the present policy of the Austrian government, who in the past had always tried to be close to its important trading partner and ally in Europe, Germany.

He expressed particular disappointment about remarks from within the government directed at Chancellor Angela Merkel, particularly as Austria had initially been on board with providing shelter for war refugees and reaching a joint solution on the issue.

Allegations that Merkel "invited" the refugees are both impolite and untrue, he said, referring to the thousands of refugees stuck in Budapest and the incident where 71 people died in the back of a people trafficker's truck in Austria last August.

At this point, both Austria and Germany had agreed to let the refugees in before another such humanitarian catastrophe could occur.

However, Schaden agrees with the Austrian federal government's decision to impose border controls at the town of Spielfeld by the southern border with Slovakia, the main point of entry for refugees into Austria.

"We have to find out who is coming in, which we haven't so far," he said. Endit