Austrian Defence Minister
Hans Peter Doskozil said Thursday that Vienna was ready to
completely close the Brenner Pass connecting it to Italy to stop
the flow of asylum seekers in an extreme-case scenario, the APA
agency quoted him as telling a meeting of his SPHE party in
Innsbruck.
He also said Austria would ask Italy to be able to operate
controls in its territory if asylum seekers keep arriving,
according to APA.
Austria has started reinforcing controls at its border
with Italy at the Brenner Pass, including via the construction
of a new barrier.
This has caused friction both with Rome and Brussels.
On Wednesday Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said
Wednesday that Italy would not accept "unilateral" moves by
Austria on the asylum-seeker crisis.
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