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Austrian FM rejects Turkish threats to allow refugees into Europe

Xinhua, November 26, 2016 Adjust font size:

Austrian Minister for Foreign Affairs Sebastian Kurz on Friday rejected threats from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Turkey could open its borders for refugees to stream into Europe.

Erdogan had made the comments after the European Parliament voted to approve a non-binding bill urging the EU to halt accession talks with Ankara.

"Europe must not allow itself to be blackmailed and must protect its borders independently," Kurz stated in a press release provided to local media.

He added it would be wrong of the EU to "ignore the clear opinion of the EU parliament" in opposition to continuation of the talks, on the back of such threats.

Kurz said he had always taken the position that the deal with Turkey was a "Plan B," and that "Plan A" had to be Europe's protection of its own external borders based on the Australian model.

"Not one-to-one like the Australian model, but on basic principle, namely, that illegal entry is no longer associated with a ticket to Central Europe," he added.

The minister further stressed it must be clear that those who attempt to enter Europe illegally will be stopped and held in detention centres on the EU outer borders, where they would be given humanitarian assistance, and their subsequent repatriation organized.

At the same time, however, he called for more help in the countries of origin of the refugees as well as a legal resettlement program that provides an avenue for the poorest refugees to move to European countries that are voluntarily willing to accept them. Endit