“We have to assume that up to 200,000 people will come to Austria in the next two to four weeks,” says Knaus. In the three weeks since the outbreak of war alone, more than twice as many people have fled to the EU as in 2015 as a whole.
“We are at the beginning of the largest refugee movement since the Second World War,” says Knaus. A pan-European approach is needed, there is great sympathy, logistics and organization are still missing, says Knaus.
The new refugee coordinator Michael Takacs also expects 200,000 refugees from Ukraine who will come to Austria and could also stay here. “I fear that we will scratch the 200,000 mark,” says Takacs in the “Presse” (Wednesday edition). There are currently only around 32,000 beds, 90 percent of which are offered by private individuals and for which the state administration is responsible.
Yesterday he instructed all ministries to find every possibility of accommodation and to report it immediately. “I also contact the mayor directly to see: Where do we have an empty apartment, where is an empty house? This week we – states, federal government, municipalities, all departments – are collecting all the information so that we can get a general overview,” says Takacs.
Source: Nachrichten
