Austria would exclude Hungary from the Schengen area?
Austrian Vice-Chancellor Werner Kogler said Hungary should be kicked out of Schengen, following the logic of the Austrian Interior Minister. According to Kogler, most unregistered crossings into Austria come from Hungary.
Criticism across Europe, Romania’s ambassador to Austria withdrawn
The German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) has published an article on the problems surrounding Schengen enlargement. They recalled that Austria’s blocking of Romania and Bulgaria (together with the Netherlands in the case of Bulgaria) from joining the Schengen area has provoked sharp criticism across Europe. Romania has recalled its ambassador from Vienna, which was an unusual move among the partner countries. Most recently, it was said that the ambassador would not be returning in the near future. At least not until Austria had taken action on the Schengen enlargement.
A “cry for help”, not against the two countries
The Austrian government’s position was criticised by the left and the liberal opposition, rtl.hu reports. But according to the FAZ, the Green Party coalition partner is also increasingly distancing itself from the ÖVP (Austrian People’s Party) of Karl Nehammer. Gerhard Karner, also ÖVP interior minister, vetoed Schengen enlargement in Brussels in early December. This was defended by Chancellor Karl Nehammer and other ÖVP government members as a “cry for help”, not against the two countries, but as a signal of the need to reform the Schengen system.
A huge problem with Schengen is illegal migration
Werner Kogler, leader and vice-chancellor of the Greens, said in a Christmas interview with the Kleine Zeitung that there are objectively problems with migration, but they are only marginally linked to Schengen. Kogler said his aim was to see Romania and Bulgaria join the Schengen area next year because the undeniable problems with illegal migration through south-eastern Europe were not with them but with Hungary, he said.
“If we were to stick to the logic of the Interior Minister, Hungary should be kicked out of Schengen, because most unregistered crossings to Austria are from there,”
he said. Austria had registered 100,000 refugees according to the rules, and then it turned out that “75,000-80,000 people had not even been pre-registered.”