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“We will not finance the construction of walls and fences for migrants” declares the EU

Her opposition to Union funding of walls and fences to deal with the irregularity immigrationa request that has been made by many member countries among them Austria recently, repeated today, Thursday (26/1) the European Commission.

“There is no money in the European Union budget for this. If we had to spend money on walls and fences, there would be no money for other things,” said the European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johanssonwho was asked about it during her attendance at the meeting of European interior ministers in Stockholm.

Austrian Chancellor Karl Neuhammer recently visited the border between Bulgaria and Turkey, along which a fence has been erected by Sofia to prevent migrants from entering. The chancellor stated that he supports the request of the president of Bulgaria Rumen Radev to the Commission for the allocation of two billion euros for the extension of the fence, so that there will be real protection for the European Union.

“It’s about the technical equipment, surveillance cameras, drones, helicopters, vehicles and the infrastructure itself. Austria is clearly on Bulgaria’s side when it comes to supporting the country regarding this request,” said Karl Neuhammer, who will raise the issue at the upcoming European Union summit on February 9 and 10, as reported by Athens News Agency.

Austria is facing a sharp rise in asylum applications and in December vetoed the entry of Bulgaria and Romania into the Schengen zone, fearing it would further increase migrant arrivals.

Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said today in Stockholm that “it is necessary to further strengthen the EU’s external borders so that we can travel safely within the European space”. “I think we’re at the beginning of a conversation that’s going to be intense.”

In October 2021, twelve countries of The European Union (Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia) had asked Brussels to finance the construction of such fences. The Commission has repeatedly expressed its refusal.

“There has long been a common position in the Commission and the Parliament on the fact that there will be no funding for barbed wire and walls,” said Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Source: News Beast

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