Austria still keeps Romania waiting at the land Schengen “gate”: Karner: “We have interests”

Austria still keeps Romania waiting at the land Schengen “gate”. Gerhard Karner, the Austrian Minister of the Interior continues to make fun of millions of Romanians by declaring that “it would be wrong to set a concrete date for Romania’s accession with all borders to the Schengen Area”, noting that “the collaboration will continue to improve the system Schengen”.

Austria still keeps Romania waiting at the land Schengen “gate”: Karner: “We have interests”

“We all know that there is a great pressure of illegal migration in Europe. Therefore, we have common interests here, we have launched joint efforts precisely to strengthen this system”, said Gerhard Karner, despite the fact that even the official European FRONTEX figures , which accounts for illegal migration from Europe, flatly contradict him in this regard.

Austria is the only country that opposed Romania’s entry into the Schengen area.

The statements come in the context of the visit of the Romanian Minister of the Interior Cătălin Predoiu to Vienna, after the reception of Romania in the air and maritime Schengen space. The two officials held a joint press conference at the airport.

Read also: Karner shatters Romania’s dream of Schengen accession: “I think it is wrong to speculate on the next step”

“I want to speak clearly that I really did not criticize Bulgaria and Romania directly”, Karner emphasized that Romania has been kept at the Schengen gates for 2 years.

The story of “migration” from Europe placed by Austria on Romania’s “shoulders”.

Asked what Romania still needs to do to enter the Schengen Area and land borders, the critical point of the Agreement that would completely unblock tens of kilometers of queues at the Romanian-Bulgarian and Romanian-Hungarian borders.

“A year and a half ago I said that a system that does not work cannot be expanded. That’s why I made that decision then. Bulgaria and Romania are very important partners for Austria when it comes to putting pressure on the European Commission to improve the Schengen system.

Our efforts have already borne fruit. You probably know that the director of Frontex has already announced increased operations, even the tripling of Frontex officers in these countries. We also have confirmation from the European Commission that more funds will be invested in Romania and Bulgaria for these purposes and I believe that this is a very important step”, said the Austrian Minister of the Interior, avoiding to specify the reason why they admitted Croatia to Schengen in 2023 although “Schengen does not work”.

Read also: Austria loses billions of € just to not let Romania into Schengen. 2% of migrants come from Romania

“We will continue to collaborate to improve the Schengen system. We all know that there is a great pressure of illegal migration in Europe. Therefore, we have common interests here, we have launched joint efforts precisely to strengthen this system. Currently there are other countries, members of the Schengen Area, with land border controls, because we, the interior ministers, are responsible for the safety of our cities.There are controls in Germany, France and Austria.

Read also: EXCLUSIVE What reasons does Austria have for not letting us into Schengen? How safe are Romania’s borders?

We must do everything possible to fix the security situation in the European Union, to continue to guarantee freedom of movement for our citizens, but I think that at the moment it would be wrong to set a concrete date in this regard”, said Gerhard Karner , according to Gândul.

“Romanian citizens, more dangerous than Afghan migrants”

Also read: VIDEO Militarized Romania: Armored vehicles in Bucharest, cannons on the CFR, military trucks at the border

“Romanian citizens, more dangerous than migrants,” says the Austrian interior minister. He claimed that more Romanian citizens were deported than illegal migrants.

The Austrian lie keeps us out of Schengen. The numbers of truth

According to the latest data published by the European Border Control Agency – FRONTEX, the migrant routes are:

1. The Central Mediterranean route – Tunisia – Italy – where 105,561 illegal migrants arrived in 2022, and the data from 2023, which are centralized until July 2023, show that 89,113 migrants came through this route.
2. The route through the Western Balkans – Serbia – Croatia – where 144,181 illegal migrants arrived in 2022, and the data from 2023, which are centralized until July 2023, show that 48,760 migrants came through this route.
3. The route through the Eastern Mediterranean – Turkey – Greece – where 43,906 illegal migrants arrived in 2022, and between January and July 2023, 17,884 migrants came through this route.
4. The route through the Western Mediterranean – Morocco – Spain – where 15,134 migrants arrived in 2022, and 7,425 migrants arrived between January and July 2023.
5. The East European route – Belarus – Poland/ Belarus – Lithuania – where 6,332 illegal migrants arrived in 2022, and in the period January – July 2023, 3,179 migrants came through this route.
6. The Circular Route – Albania – Greece – where 672 illegal migrants arrived in 2022, and the data from 2023, which are centralized until July 2023, show that 419 migrants came through this route.
7. The route through the Black Sea – Romania and Bulgaria – where 213 illegal migrants arrived in 2022, and the data from 2023, which are centralized until July 2023, show that 40 migrants came through this route.