In an interview for the Austrian Die Presse daily, Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner talks about topical internal and external political problems. On the topic of Schengen, he expresses his wish that the veto on its enlargement with Bulgaria and Romania remains, but he does not list specific conditions, APA summarizes the interview. He thinks the full entry of the two countries in the border-free area would be a mistake "in today's phase" and that border control is necessary.
According to Karner, Schengen enlargement does not depend solely on Romania and Bulgaria; the entire migration system is in disarray. In his words, a functioning system at the European level is needed, and that can happen only if the external border is protected. That, too, is a critical part of the new Pack on Migration and Asylum that the EU reached an agreement on and that should now be put into operation. Only then can there be full freedom of movement in the EU, he says.
Romania and Bulgaria being allowed in Schengen by air and water is a step forward, and the progress should continue step by step, the Interior Minister notes. He adds that it is not Austria's task to set a schedule or create rules. "It is the Commission's job to guarantee that the entire system works," he also says. Austria has a big contribution in that field to get the ball rolling. Sometime ago, it would have been unthinkable for the state and government leaders to unanimously decide to fund jointly the protection of the EU's external borders. A year ago, it would also have been unthinkable to make a pack on migration and asylum, he says.
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