According to the Burgenland state police department, this means five times as many seizures and a doubling of arrests as of July 20 compared to the previous year. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) therefore emphasized the importance of priority checks during a visit to the Klingenbach border crossing (Eisenstadt-Surroundings district) on Wednesday.
In Klingenbach, border controls took place on Wednesday afternoon without any incidents worth mentioning. Neither refugees nor people smugglers were apprehended and traffic rolled leisurely across the border without long waiting times. Karner wanted to know from the police officers whether those being checked understood that the border controls were necessary to combat smuggling and illegal migration. Basically yes, they said, but every now and then there is a lack of understanding, because: “Very often it’s the same people who are checked again and again: the commuters.”
According to Karner, most seizures are still recorded in the Neusiedl am See and Oberpullendorf districts. Due to the tightened controls – especially there – the smugglers would dodge again and again. Measures against smuggling and illegal migration have a high priority for him, said the Minister of the Interior. That is why the staff at the border has also been increased. The increased controls are now to be evaluated on an ongoing basis.
Source: Nachrichten
