Border controls with Austria for Scholz currently "essential"

2023-08-18 12:05:00

Scholz had met Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) bilaterally in Salzburg on Friday for the first time since taking office in November 2021. In addition to the migration issue and the Ukraine war, the topics of the talks were cooperation regarding a hydrogen pipeline corridor via Italy to Austria and Germany.

At the same time, the German chancellor was confident that the new EU asylum mechanism currently being negotiated and agreements with countries of origin and transit will bring about an improvement in migration figures in Europe. At the same time, both he and Nehammer addressed the problem that, in particular, asylum seekers coming to Austria and Germany via Hungary were largely not registered at the EU’s external border, contrary to the applicable regulations.

Hungary as a “security partner”

Nehammer described the relevant talks with Hungary, which together with Poland rejects the planned asylum solidarity mechanism, as “drilling through thick boards”. Hungary must become a “security partner” when it comes to migration. At the same time, he called for the Western Balkan countries to be better involved in the topic. He cited the example of the negotiations with Serbia, which ultimately led to the withdrawal of the Serbian visa-free regime for Indian and Tunisian citizens, which drove up the number of asylum applications in Austria in 2022.

Regarding migration agreements, Nehammer emphasized not only an EU agreement with Tunisia in mid-July but also a bilateral repatriation agreement between Austria and Morocco concluded in February. On the one hand, this enables Moroccans who have committed a crime to be taken back from Austria, but on the other hand it also allows for an “orderly immigration into the labor market” in Austria.

“Incredibly Big Challenges”

Regarding Austria’s blockade of Romania’s and Bulgaria’s accession to the Schengen area, Nehammer praised the fact that for the first time within the European Union, Bulgaria’s “incredibly major challenges” in terms of migration “because of its long external border with Turkey” were becoming more of a focus. However, he did not indicate any movement by Austria regarding the blockade. For his part, Scholz reiterated the German position that Berlin supports Schengen accession for the two countries.

With regard to security of energy supply, Nehammer mentioned the cooperation between Austria, Germany and Italy in the expansion of energy supply networks, especially with regard to the supply of hydrogen and liquefied natural gas (LNG). The Italian gas network operator SNAM announced in March that it intends to supply Austria and Germany with green hydrogen from North Africa by 2030 at the latest. In 2016, SNAM acquired a 49 percent stake in the Austrian pipeline company Gas Connect Austria (GCA) with the German Allianz Capital Partners. The “South H2 Corridor” route is to run from Tunisia and Algeria via Italy and Austria to Bavaria. According to the website, the project is supported by the Austrian Ministry of Climate, OMV, Verbund and VoestAlpine, among others.