Austria will build a fence along its border, like Slovenia and Hungary, to slow down the migrant flow, Austrian Interior Minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner told ORF radio.
Bibihal Uzbeki, from Kunduz, Afghanistan, is among tens of thousands of migrants who have traveled for thousands of miles fleeing war and poverty to search for a happier, safer future in Europe.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is heading to China Wednesday to bolster the country’s trade ties with China, leaving a growing storm behind at home over her stance on Europe’s migrant crisis.
In recent days, she said, it was observed that a few groups of refugees have become increasingly impatient and were aggressive.
The EU’s new reception places, to be provided with the help of the United Nations’ refugee agency, the UNHCR, will help provide shelter and speed up registration of migrants, according to European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.
After a slight drop in early October, the number of asylum seekers arriving in Germany has risen again in recent days, putting authorities under intense pressure.
Austrian police spokesman David Furtner described the move as “a joke” that risked creating a risky bottle-neck.
Shortly before de Maiziere’s remarks, Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann said Austria was planning to build barriers at the Spielfeld border crossing with Slovenia through which several thousand migrants pass daily.
“As a European I do not desire (a fence) but the state will be forced into it if the commitments (from Brussels) are not fulfilled”, Prime Minister Miro Cerar said on Wednesday.
Bavaria’s interior minister Joachim Herrmann also heaped criticism on Austrian authorities, accusing them of only seeking to push the refugees onto Germany as quickly as possible.
European Union and Balkan leaders agreed at a weekend summit to stem the massive migrant surge by introducing tighter border controls. There won’t be a fence around the entire country, either, he said.
Further down the migrant trail, Slovenia has been struggling to cope with the influx – almost 90,000 have arrived in the last two weeks, since Hungary sealed its frontier with Croatia.
The migration crisis has put a heavy strain on the relationship between Ms. Merkel and the Bavarian premier, who is also chairman of the Christian Social Union, sister party to Ms. Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union and a junior partner in the ruling coalition in Berlin. “If this doesn’t happen, we have to consider what other options we have”, he said, without elaborating.
Speaking of the main challenges facing the ties between China and Germany in the coming years, Shi noted that the two countries should fundamentally promote mutual understanding between the two peoples.
“Slowly word will spread among the refugees that individual states do not have a form of invitation policy but are at the limits of their capacity and are carrying out tougher controls and security measures”, Mitterlehner said.