- Switzerland and Austria are working more closely together to combat irregular migration.
- Federal Councilor Karin Keller-Sutter and the Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner agreed on a joint bilateral action plan at a working meeting in Zurich.
- The two criticized Serbia’s visa policy.
Irregular migration has increased sharply in recent months, particularly on the Balkan route, as reported by Keller-Sutter’s Federal Department of Justice and Police (FDJP). In addition to migration policy measures at bilateral and international level, the action plan also includes joint border police measures to contain the spread.
Among other things, the Federal Councilor and the Austrian Minister agreed on additional cross-border searches and operations to combat human traffickers. Joint patrols are planned for cross-border rail traffic.
On the Swiss side, the cantons and the Federal Office of Customs and Border Security (BAZG) are responsible for these measures. Liaison officers ensure communication. Both states will review the implementation of the action plan by the end of 2022 and propose further measures if necessary.
Change in visa policy
Internationally, joint migration policy initiatives at European level are at the heart of the plan. Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Croatia and Slovenia are intervening at the European Commission with the aim of changing the visa policy of the Western Balkan countries. In doing so, they want to prevent a liberal visa policy from fueling irregular migration on the Balkan route.
Legend:
Keller-Sutter and Karner with the joint agreement.
Keystone/Walter Bieri
Austria and Switzerland are also working towards a fundamental change in the European asylum and migration system. They also want to adapt the Schengen system to prevent secondary migration. Secondary migration describes the rapid onward movement of refugees and emigrants from one country to another.
criticism of Serbia
The focus is currently on Serbia. As the Minister of Justice told the media, the visa policy of the Balkan state has led to increased irregular migration. For example, Tunisians, Cubans and Indians could easily reach Belgrade legally by plane. From there they would be taken by smugglers, mostly Serbs, via Hungary to Austria. This has some clear consequences: “In Austria, asylum applications from Indians have increased by 2000 percent,” said Keller-Sutter. An increasing number of Tunisians and Indians have also recently been picked up at the Swiss border.
Austria alone counted 56,000 asylum applications in the first eight months of this year. In the whole of 2021 there were 40,000. The applications have no chance, as the Austrian Minister of the Interior stated. 32,000 have already been rejected. He spoke of an “almost dramatic situation”.
Karner emphasized that there is basically a good basis for discussion with Serbia. Exactly why irregular migration via Serbia has increased so much remains unclear. Significantly, Keller-Sutter indicated that there are currently different interests because of the Ukraine war.