TIRANA, January 31 – Austria and Hungary agree that a stable Western Balkan region plays an important role in migration. This was said in a meeting between Austrian Defence Minister Klaudia Tanner and her Hungarian counterpart Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky at a meeting in Budapest on Monday, stressing their close cooperation.
Austria already called for a speedy integration of the West Balkan states, with Integration minister Susanne Raab demanding the EU to “finally get going” back in November, reported EURACTIV.
That same month, Chancellor Karl Nehammer teamed up with Hungary and Serbia to stop asylum seekers from picking and choosing the countries they apply for asylum in, signing a memorandum of understanding about pushing illegal migrants back away to end “asylum a la carte.”
The number of asylum requests in Austria tripled last year to 108,490 applications, making it the EU nation with the sharpest increase overall. Meanwhile, Hungary registered the least applications, with just 46 requests. The fact that the Visegrad country refuses to register asylum seekers, contrary to EU law, was not mentioned by Tanner.
In the past, Hungary said it came under increased pressure due to refugees fleeing the war from neighboring Ukraine, while critics point out that few refugees choose to stay in Hungary.
Tanner also emphasised good cooperation with Hungary in seven foreign missions, APA reported. At the same time, the minister called for the EU to act more decisively about the approaching NATO enlargement. The lack of unity in European security policy would open the door to new dangers, she said. /Argumentum.al
