The Minister of Internal Affairs, Lucian Bode, met his Austrian counterpart, Gerhard Karner, to whom he presented updated data on how Romania continues to ensure the protection of external borders in the context of migratory flows on the Western Balkans route, according to Agerpres.

„Romania’s accession to the Schengen area will be a plus for European security, not a danger for the member states. I had a meeting today with my Austrian counterpart, Gerhard Karner, the Federal Minister of the Interior of Austria, on the subject of Romania’s accession to the Schengen area, respectively the management of migration challenges. I know the situation generated by the particular migratory pressure that Austria is facing – about 100,000 asylum seekers this year alone, and from this point of view I understand the approach of my counterpart at the domestic political level. During the discussions, I presented the Austrian minister with updated data and statistics regarding the way in which Romania continues to ensure the protection of external borders in the context of migratory flows on the Western Balkans route, as well as the way in which Romania complies with the obligations regarding the registration of persons detected with illegal entry or who request asylum in Romania”, Bode wrote on Facebook.

The minister specified that only approximately 2.7% of the total number of migrants managed to reach the European Union through Romania.

„According to the data provided by the European agencies, in the first eight months of this year, a total of 128,438 migrants were registered on the Western Balkans route, and of these 3,574 migrants were registered in Romania as coming from Serbia, which is about 2.7% of the total number of migrants who managed to reach the EU through Romania”, said Bode.

According to him, it is a very „solid” argument that shows „unequivocally” that Romania is not on the migration route of the Western Balkans.

„In addition, the seriousness, professionalism and level of equipment of the Romanian authorities were clearly positively reflected in the reports drawn up by the European Commission following the evaluation visits carried out in our country recently. Also, the very good level of preparation found as a result of the last evaluations made after 11 years show the constant efforts we have made, including from the perspective of investments”, stated the Minister of Internal Affairs.

Lucian Bode added that the Austrian counterpart assured him that the latest statements on the subject of Schengen are not directed against Romania.

„Besides presenting the points of view, the objective of our discussions was to identify the common points on which to focus bilaterally, respectively at the European level. In the context, my counterpart assured me on several occasions that the latest statements on the subject of Schengen are not directed against Romania, but emphasize the need for urgent action regarding the management of the migration challenges affecting Austria”, the minister mentioned.

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said on Tuesday that „there are 100,000 people in Austria who crossed the border illegally, of whom 75,000 transited countries like Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary, without being registered by the security authorities there”. „It is a security risk and we have to deal with it,” he explained.

Agerpres