Schallenberg: ‘Migration is a security issue for the EU’

Brussels: The migrant issue must be resolved at the European level, Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg told ANSA in an interview.

Like Italy, Austria believes the question of migration should be solved at the European level, Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Schallenberg said in an interview with ANSA.

“We can no longer continue to look the other way with what has become an existential security issue for our continent,” he said.

The interview took place a day after Schallenberg’s meeting in Ancona with his Italian counterpart Minister Antonio Tajani and colleagues from Slovenia and Croatia.

“In 2022, Austria registered the highest number of asylum requests per capita in continental Europe, despite being surrounded by Schengen states and states associated with Schengen,” Schallenberg said, calling the situation “unsustainable”.

He called on the EU Commission to “act swiftly” and for EU Member States — even those “who look the other way” — to take more responsibility for migration across the bloc.

“We share a similar position with Italy,” Schallenberg said. “And together we must continue to act as pioneers and contribute to a new consensus of the EU.”

In reference to the EU Commission, “there must be a clear roadmap; one that will bring about a significant and sustained decrease” in migration flows, he said.

Schallenberg noted that the integration of the Western Balkan countries is also fundamental to solving the migration question.

He said Austria’s support of this process is not due to altruism, but self-interest.

“We cannot afford instability on Europe’s patio, as I like to refer to the western Balkan countries,” he said, warning that “the instability of south-oriental Europe has the dangerous tendency to spread to central Europe.”