Austrian politician blames Hungary for illegal migration?

Austrian Minister of the Interior Karl Nehammer blamed Hungarian border control officers for the many unidentified migrants. From his standpoint, Hungary should act according to the European Union’s law and defend the borders more effectively.

Unfortunately, the job of border control officers is really difficult. At the Schengen outer borders, officers had to deal with 53,297 cases this year, while in 2020, the number of cases where interference was necessary was only 17,442 in the same period of time.

“The direct reason for the migratory pressure is that Greece transported tens of thousands of refugees from the camps on the islands to the mainland, most of who are headed towards Hungary on the Western Balkans route,” hvg.hu quotes the police.

Austrian politician Roland Fürst has data on the migration issue, indicating that this year, 8,000 people crossed the Austrian-Hungarian border illegally, out of which 20% are Afghans.

90% of Afghan migrants are men. 90% of those who asked for residency permits but were denied are still in the country.

Read alsoHungary’s immigration law enforcement strictest in the EU?

The Hungarian police said that the migratory pressure at the southern border is huge.

Kronen Zeitiung quoted the

Interior Minister Karl Nehammer (ÖVP), who said that “There are a lot of migrants here, nobody knows who they are. Hungary cannot allow that to happen. They have to adhere to EU law and protect their external borders more efficiently.”

He then went on to add that the European Union is “sending the wrong signals” regarding the current migration policy, and since the EU does not react, Austria must “lead the fight against the illegal smugglers who are repeatedly endangering people’s lives.”

The Hungarian police posted a video about their press conference, and on their official website, they also posted a graphic video about the migration issue.

Read alsoIllegal migrants and guest workers overruning the Southern borders!

Featured image: MTI/Mihádák Zoltán

Source: hvg.hu, Kronen Zeitung, police.hu