Asylum dispute with Bavaria

Migrants at the border: Karner issues instructions to the police

Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) announces massive resistance to the announced rejections of migrants at the German borders.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/APA, AFP/DPA)

Following the latest criticism from Bavaria, Austria's Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) has added to the dispute over the handling of rejected migrants at the German-Austrian border. He emphasized to krone.at on Friday: "I have instructed the Federal Police Director not to carry out any takeovers!"

On Thursday, Bavaria's Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU) criticized Karner's announcement that he would not accept any migrants rejected by Germany at the border. For him, the refusal misses the point: the legal situation is clear, Herrmann said in an interview with "Die Welt".

Bavaria's Interior Minister: Legal situation is clear
"This is not about whether Austria takes someone back, but about whether Germany refuses someone entry. And if Germany refuses someone entry, then the person in question is still in the neighboring country and has not entered it." In this respect, the question for Austria is not whether they want to "take someone back".

Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) announces massive resistance to the announced rejections of migrants at the German borders.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/APA, AFP/DPA)

Germans want comprehensive rejections at borders
The German government has ordered additional border controls from Monday and is also considering comprehensive rejections of migrants at the German borders. 

If Germany refuses someone entry, the person in question is still in the neighboring country.

Bayerns Innenminister Joachim Herrmann (CSU)

Karner defies Germans: "There is no room for maneuver!"
Austria's Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) had previously announced his opposition. "Austria will not accept any people who are sent back from Germany. There is no room for maneuver! That is the law. Refoulement within the framework of internal border controls is not permitted under EU law."

Austria does not accept any persons returned from Germany. The Ministry of the Interior has therefore once again instructed the relevant state police directorates not to accept refusals of entry by the German authorities in breach of EU law and to report any observations without delay.

Innenminister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP)

Applicable EU law
In principle, he assumes that EU member states comply with applicable EU law. "This means that people applying for asylum may not be turned back informally at the border," emphasizes Karner.

If there are indications that another member state is responsible under the rules of the Dublin III Regulation, a formal Dublin consultation procedure should be initiated, according to him. "A transfer can only take place after the member state concerned has given its consent."

Karner threatens Germany
Karner is therefore putting the rod in the window for Germany: "The Ministry of the Interior once again instructed the relevant state police directorates on Thursday not to accept entry refusals by the German authorities that violate EU law and to report any observations immediately."

Only then are refoulements possible
According to the Minister of the Interior, refoulement is only possible under certain conditions, "for example when it comes to EU citizens with a residence ban". There have been around 700 deportations in Austria so far this year. 

Migrants at the Burgenland border with Hungary

(Bild: Christian Schulter, Krone KREATIV)

Karner also praises Austria's fight against smugglers and illegal migration: "At Burgenland's border with Hungary, the police have apprehended around 1,000 people this year after crossing the border illegally. As a result, there are hardly any transit movements via Austria to Germany."