Austria calls for closing migrant route through Italy Too

3/17/2016 9:18:47 AM

(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) Austria’s Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz has called for stepping up border controls to shut off theMediterraneanroute leading throughItalyto central Europe following the closure of the Western Balkan route for migrants.

In an interview with German newspaper Bild on Sunday Kurz said: “We must do everything that we did for the Balkan route for the Italian-Mediterranean route so that it is clear the time of waving through refugees to central Europe had passed no matter which route it is” according to thelocal.at.

In a separate development Austria’s Chancellor WernerFaymannhas said that European countries should make clear to asylum seekers that refugees cannot choose where they will be accommodated in Europe.

In comments to state broadcasterORFon SundayFaymannalso defended Austria’s decision to impose annual caps on the number of refugees the country woyuld take in according to the Associated Press.

TheInternational Organization for Migration(IOM) said last week that while migrant traffic to Greecestill dominates there had been much more arrivals toItalythis winter compared with either of the previous two years.

“That’s an indication that the Libya-to-Italy route remains a preferred migrant path” the IOMsaid.

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