Austria’s proposal to allocate a total of 2 billion euros in order to improve fences on the border between Bulgaria and Turkey has been rejected by the European Commission.
In addition, regarding the issue, the Commission said that it does not have money in the budget to improve the fence in order to keep the migrants out on Bulgaria’s common border with Turkey, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer’s proposal to build a border wall has been rejected by the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson.
“There are no funds for such a thing in the EU budget. Therefore, if we give money for walls and fences, there is no money left available for other things”, Ylva Johansson, pointed out in this regard.
She stressed that there was sometimes a dream that you can get money from the European Commission for everything while complaining that the European Council representing the EU countries had cut her department’s budget for the period from 2021 until 2027.
The shared border between Bulgaria and Turkey continues to remain among the most discussed issues following the increased number of migrants that attempt to reach other European countries by crossing this border.
Earlier this month it was reported that a total of 92 people were arrested by the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol), after being accused of smuggling migrants from Turkey through Bulgaria and Serbia and then to other European countries.
Illegal migration is among the most significant problems that authorities in Bulgaria need to work with, according to Austria. Besides, back in December, authorities in Austria blocked the accession of Bulgaria to the borderless area of Schengen.
In this regard, Karoline Edtstadler, the Austrian Minister for European Affairs, said that the country would support Bulgaria’s joining the Schengen Area only after it applies new changes to the European Union migration policy.
Besides, the same reasons led Austria also to block Romania’s accession to the Schengen Zone.
“We want to continue discussing the Schengen expansion, in coordination with partners in Bulgaria and Romania, so that we can put it back on the agenda after the necessary steps are taken regarding migration and asylum policy,” Edtstadler pointed out in this regard.
The Minister also said that authorities in Austria should work harder regarding the issue.
Back then, European Union countries unanimously supported Croatia’s accession to become part of the borderless area of Schengen, however, they shared different opinions when it came to Bulgaria and Romania.
