Authorities in Switzerland and Austria are planning to strengthen cooperation in order to prevent the entry of persons who attempt to reach these countries by illicit means and tighten external border controls.
Such decisions come following the meeting held between the Federal Councilor Karin Keller-Sutter and her new Austrian counterpart, Federal Minister of the Interior Gerhard Karner, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
During the meeting, among others, it was also discussed the revision of the Schengen rules regarding border controls, ongoing EU negotiations to reform the migration and asylum system in Europe, as well as bilateral cooperation on migration and counter-terrorism.
“Switzerland and Austria agree that the increasing secondary migration, in particular, requires a response at European level. Both countries, therefore, welcome the EU Commission’s reform proposal for the Schengen Borders Code and support the French Presidency’s proposal to proceed step by step and pragmatically and to implement the undisputed proposals first,” the statement published by Switzerland’s government reads.
The same reveals that the reform attempts to permit joint police operations and ease readmission between the EU Member States.
According to SwissInfo, over 5,000 refugees have reached Switzerland in an unlawful way by train from Austria since mid-2021. The same source shows that the most significant number of them were citizens from Afghanistan who attempted to reach France. In addition, the most significant number of them have filed an application for asylum in Austria; therefore, authorities in Switzerland are eligible to send them back.
However, the decision to send the refugees back is rarely applied by Swiss authorities, according to the news agency Keystone-SDA, due to long procedures as well as the lack of detention facilities.
Both countries have previously made bilateral readmission agreements; but, the procedures of such agreements need to be improved.
In this regard, Federal Councilor Karin Keller-Sutter stressed during a press conference that “the current agreement from 2001 is outdated, we are continuing to work on it together and also want to continue the joint police patrols”.
As for the common interest in protecting the external borders, both ministers agreed that the reform of migration and asylum law at the EU level is needed as soon as possible.
During the meeting, the two ministers also confirmed that the cooperation within the Schengen Zone countries and tighter protection of the external border are very important for the security of the citizens.
SOURCE: Schengen Visa Info
