Austria shifts focus, plans to construct border fence
Vienna likely to encounter criticism from EU nations struggling to cope with crisis
VIENNA— Austria, a strong critic of fences built to cope with Europe’s migrant influx, on Wednesday announced it is joining other nations that have either already erected border barriers or are planning to do so.
Austrian Interior Minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner insisted the move was aimed solely at bringing order to the unrelenting influx of people entering the country, telling parliament there were no plans “to build a fence around Austria.” Still, the project is a major shift for the country, which has preached the sanctity of unimpeded internal EU borders since the migrant crisis intensified earlier this year. Mikl-Leitner herself used the world “fence” in earlier comments announcing construction plans at the border.
Austria is likely to run into domestic and international criticism for the signal it sends to other nations struggling to cope with tens of thousands of desperate people moving though their lands. And it could ignite a chain reaction along the land route in Eastern Europe used by those seeking a better life in prosperous EU countries.
Slovenia, the main entry point into Austria, also said it was ready to build a fence, while Hungary has been championing the success of its razorwire border fences with Serbia and Croatia and plans another one with Romania. Greece already erected a barbed-wire fence three years ago on a section of its border with Turkey not separated by a river. Bulgaria also has fenced off parts of its boundary to Turkey, while some Baltic states plan to erect fences on border segments with Russia.
But all of these existing or planned fences are either on outer EU borders, or between two EU countries where one is not yet part of the Schengen Agreement meant to ensure the free movement of persons.
The Austria-Slovenia border is part of the agreement, however, and any barriers erected on it would be closely watched for possible violations.
Seeking to defuse the controversy, Austrian chancellor Werner Faymann refused to characterize the planned measures as a fence, repeatedly avoiding the word in an evening television news interview despite being reminded that it was used by his interior minister.
Mikl-Leitner told parliament that the construction of “technical barriers” would begin after about 10 days of planning but gave no exact date for the start of the project. Speaking to state broadcaster ORF, Mikl-Leitner cited the need for a fence to maintain public order, while defence minister Gerald Klug said containers or railings could be set up to “control the refugees in an orderly way.”
Since Hungary sealed its borders with Serbia and Croatia on Sept. 15 and Oct. 17, thousands of refugees have been flowing into Slovenia daily. From there, they go to Austria, with many continuing on to Germany.
The usually excellent relations between Germany and Austria have been strained in recent days, with Germany accusing Austria on Wednesday of dropping asylumseekers near their border after dark without warning.