Austria protests Hungarian implementation of border controls

Hungary's decision to tighten entry controls at its shared border with Austria has proved a source of contention in recent days, with Austria making an official diplomatic protest on Wednesday.

Minister of the Interior Wolfgang Sobotka confirmed the move by the Austrian government, according to a Krone newspaper report, saying he had called on the Hungarian ambassador for talks.

Both sides had tightened controls, which have led to long traffic jams heading in both directions over the shared border for days.

Austria, however, sees itself in the right, particularly in light of the migrant crisis and attempts to combat people smuggling, the latter of which Sobotka said is still going on.

But the Austrian government does not believe Hungary has any justification for its decision to impose similarly strict controls for traffic heading in the other direction.

The minister argued that the Schengen rules, specifically paragraph 29 that concerns re-implementation of border controls under extenuating circumstances, give Austria the right to control the shared border, but that Hungary lacks the right to do likewise.

Sobotka also noted Austria was unhappy with Hungary's decision not to take back asylum seekers as per the Dublin agreement. Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern has indicated he wishes to speak to his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban to clarify the matter. Endit