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Majority of Austrians in favor of stricter asylum stance: survey

Xinhua, April 23, 2016 Adjust font size:

A majority of Austrians support the stricter stance their government has adopted over the asylum crisis, a survey from market research institute IMAS has revealed Friday.

The Linz-based institute said 72 percent of Austrians find the stricter approach justified, with support also for the closure of the Balkans migrant route as well as increased border controls.

The preparation for the closure of further border crossing sites should the crisis escalate again also saw strong support, with only 15 percent of respondents disagreeing that measures for expanding these border controls are needed.

The support for the stricter controls also appears influenced by the perception that the situation with the asylum seekers will not change soon, with 63 percent of respondents believing a return to the crisis levels of 2015 could be seen again in the months ahead.

Survey respondents were also in favor of repatriating asylum seekers to safe neighboring countries through which they travelled, with 74 percent backing government efforts to make changes to its asylum laws in this regard, and only 17 percent against this.

The results also indicated that Austrians believe their government must tackle the issues instead of waiting for a joint European solution, with 70 percent of respondents believing criticism of the Austrian government's stance by other EU member states is unjustified. Endit