EU Migration Policy: Austria insists on asylum procedures in third countries ahead of EU meeting

Austria is pushing for the European Union to adopt asylum procedures in countries outside the bloc, a stance reinforced by the recent influx of thousands of migrants into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner emphasized that the necessary legal framework for such third-country processing was established with the EU's asylum pact.

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The legal possibilities for this were created with the EU asylum pact. The words must now be followed by deeds.

"The words must now be followed by deeds," Karner told the newspaper Welt, stressing the urgency to prevent tragedies like those seen in Ceuta and deaths in the Mediterranean Sea. He believes that processing asylum claims in third countries, along with return centers for rejected applicants outside Europe, could also help curb the spread of misinformation and smuggling operations.

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The goal is to prevent images like those recently seen in Ceuta and deaths in the Mediterranean Sea.

EU interior ministers are convening for an emergency video conference, prompted by a joint letter from 22 member states, including Germany, calling for measures to prevent "mass and uncontrolled border crossings." The meeting is expected to address the escalating situation at the EU's external borders.

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Spain must change its course.

Manfred Weber, leader of the European People's Party (EPP), urged Spain to change its approach, criticizing Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's government for perceived unilateral actions and isolation. Weber suggested that uncontrolled immigration increases fatalities, stating, "Nobody should have died here."

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Ceuta also shows us that uncontrolled immigration also increases the number of deaths. Nobody should have died here.