Praise for Karner plans

“Those who commit crimes have no place here”

Interior Minister Gerhard Karner during a border visit in Burgenland.(Bild: Christian Schulter)

Austria wants to follow Denmark's example. Convicted refugees should be able to be sent back. The plans of Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) are also welcomed by the SPÖ-Burgenland.

In the difficult migration issue, Germany's neighbors are looking to Austria with respect. "The smugglers are now giving our country a wide berth", Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) is quoted as saying in the highly respected newspaper "Welt". The shortest route for refugees to Germany, France or Great Britain is via Burgenland. However, the smuggling gangs now prefer to take a huge detour via Slovakia or other countries in the south because the risk of being caught there is lower. As reported, the widely networked smuggling mafia has long since reacted and shifted its routes.

Apprehensions down significantly
In the first quarter of last year, 4450 illegal immigrants were intercepted at the border with Hungary, according to the Ministry of the Interior; in 2024, the number of apprehensions from January to March amounted to just 190. Only six immigrants were registered in Burgenland last week. This brings the total number of migrants this year to 245. In the past, this influx had to be dealt with in a single day. Accordingly, arrests of smugglers are now also rare. Only four offenders were stopped this year. There used to be up to 30 in a week. Karner attributes this development to Austria's stricter asylum policy with more border controls and deportations.

Approval from provincial SPÖ
SPÖ party chairman Roland Fürst welcomes the Interior Minister's plans to send back delinquent migrants from third countries. Karner would like to follow Denmark's example. The Scandinavian country has an agreement with the government in Pristina that allows it to operate detention facilities in Kosovo that are obliged to accept deported criminals.

There are thousands of smugglers in our prisons, most of whom remain in Austria after their release. Nobody can understand that, and rightly so.

SPÖ-Klubobmann Roland Fürst

"Our prisons are quite rightly geared towards resocialization, but anyone who comes to Austria to commit crimes has absolutely no place here," says Fürst: "We can only hope that the announcements are followed by action."