(ANSA) - LJUBLJANA - Slovenia proposed a joint border patrol
to Austria, but Vienna took its time. The decision was the
outcome of the September 13 meeting between the ministers of the
interior of the two countries, Boštjan Poklukar (Slovenia) and
Wolfgang Peschorn (Austria). The Austrian minister, though in
favor of his counterpart's proposal, said that this solution
should be examined while taking into account the general
situation to assess whether it is sufficient to cope with the
pressure of migration.
Poklukar reiterated that controlling the Austrian border with
Slovenia hurts the population of both countries, causing
economic damage and several kilometers of border congestion. For
this reason, he proposed to his Austrian counterpart to suspend
the control and establish joint patrols.
According to Peschorn's statement, the Austrian government
should revise its stance on the borders by mid-October, but in
the meantime, any illegal immigration and the smuggling of
people have to be rejected.
Meanwhile, the Balkan route continues to be one of the most
important routes for those migrants who want to reach to the EU
countries. In Slovenia, 27 migrants were arrested between
Thursday and Friday last week, along the border with Croatia,
mostly citizens of Pakistan and Lebanon. The police reported in
a statement, adding that 10 of them had applied for
international protection, whereas the others were sent back to
the Croatian security authorities. (ANSA).
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