(MENAFN- The Peninsula)
VIENNA: Austria on Wednesday accused Germany of sending mixed messages on immigration saying Berlin should decide between supporting Greece in letting migrants continue their journey into Europe and telling other countries not to let too many people through.
Germany which took in more than a million migrants last year most of whom passed through Austria has pushed for common European measures to address the continent’s migration crisis.
Austria which has taken in a similar proportion of asylum seekers relative to its population said last week that it would cap the number of migrants passing through its southern border at 3200 a day and limit daily asylum claims there to 80.
The move coordinated with countries on the main migrant route into Europe through the Balkans drew a warning from Berlin against unilateral measures. Germany also said it did not want to bear the brunt of the influx.
“Germany has to decide what signals Germany wants to send” Austrian Interior Minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner told a news conference at a meeting with her counterparts from Balkan countries aimed at coordinating border restrictions.
“Currently they are sending the following signals: that they are allowing Greece to agree to the open-door policy and on the other hand they are demanding that Austria stop all those who want to travel to Germany or reduce the quota of 3200” Mikl-Leitner added.
Berlin could not both support Greece in letting those arriving from Turkey travel further into Europe unhindered and call on other countries to restrict the flow Mikl-Leitner said.
“These are simply different signals—on the one hand stop on the other sending a signal to Greece that the waving through of migrants should carry on” she said. “One must choose one of those strategies.”
(Reporting by Francois Murphy; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
Reuters