The far-right Freedom Party is expected to top the polls in upcoming Austrian elections.
The EU needs to develop its migration policy and have asylum centres outside the bloc to meet the concerns of voters wooed by the far right, Austria’s EU minister has told Euronews.
Karoline Edtstadler spoke to Euronews on the fringes of Forum Alpbach, the annual policy congress in the Tyrol, weeks ahead of a general election in Austria in which the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) is on course to win the largest share of the vote according to polls.
Edtstadler belongs to the centre-right Austrian People’s Party, currently in a government coalition with the Greens.
“We have to take the concerns of the citizens of Austria seriously and one of these is illegal migration rising in Vienna and other cities,” Edtstadler said when asked what her centre-right party could do to win voters’ confidence.
“We have an issue with people being here [in Austria] but not in compliance with our values, and we need to do something more at European level to mitigate it,” the Europe minister added.
“The migration compact needs to be further developed and we need to take further steps to develop third country [non-EU] asylum centres. More needs to be done,” she added.
The EU finalised new immigration rules in May after a decade of squabbles — but non-governmental organisations such as Amnesty International and Oxfam have warned it fails to offer solutions for those seeking safety.
Days after the bloc completed the New Pact on Migration and Asylum, On 15 May, member states, including Austria, issued a joint call to develop the outsourcing of migration and asylum policy, arguing the “unsustainable” increase in irregular arrivals seen in recent years justified thinking “outside the box”.
“The EU and its member states should enhance their contribution to equal, constructive and broad partnerships with key countries, especially along the migratory routes, by changing our focus from managing irregular migration in Europe to supporting refugees as well as host communities in regions of origin,” they wrote.
On Monday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for a decrease in irregular migration into Germany after a Syrian asylum seeker was charged last week with killing three people in a knife attack in Solingen.
“This was terrorism, terrorism against us all,” Scholz said during a visit to the town.
Scholz said Germany would do all it could to ensure that “those who cannot and should not stay here in Germany are repatriated and deported”.
Edtstadler also told Euronews the bloc should gradually enlarge to include new members, but added “you won’t win elections with the accession process”.
“Nevertheless you have to make clear that politicians are not here for the short term of a campaign, and need to be responsible for the full five years for which they are elected,” she said, adding: “If you explain that accession is necessary for security, that is a more comprehensible message.”
