Vienna is studying drastic measures to control immigrants and reduce the risk of radicalization
Of Francesco De Palo
Immigration, barracks, curfew and a more harmonious welfare system: here is the Vienna government's decalogue for the new year.
The new Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz announced on Christmas Eve that "forcing member countries to welcome refugees will not help Europe". And on the EU quotas for the distribution of migrants he thundered that "if we continue like this we will divide the EU and the member states will each decide on their own how many people to welcome".
Today his government, son of the agreement signed a month ago between the conservatives of the People's Party ÖVP and the right-wing FPö, moves from analyzes to facts and puts down on paper the strategy to be adopted in the short term. Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache proposes accommodation for immigrants in disused barracks, but with a night curfew to avoid crimes and mixing with organized crime and places of possible connection with ISIS. «Even in the past – he specified – it has been discussed whether this is not the case, from a certain time onwards, it will be, they should all be back in the barracks". So no mass housing, such as public housing buildings or hotels and campsites, but structures controlled directly by the Defense to manage the reception intelligently and without sloppiness and above all guaranteeing serious and planned control to prevent, as happened elsewhere, the risk of radicalization or excessive freedom for guests among whom jihadists ready for action may hide.
A path that Kurz had already taken two years ago, when he held the position of Foreign Minister, criticizing the reception policy tout court practiced by Berlin that in 2015 it "resulted in" a million refugees. Those were the days of the Idomeni camp, of the chaos on the border between Greece and Türkiye, which led to the agreement between the EU and Ankara. And the chancellor himself, since his election, he sided with Hungary and the Czech Republic against the German policy on asylum seekers in the awareness that «even militarily further efforts are needed to help migrants in their country of origin or in neighboring states», with the certainty that "the border that separates asylum and economic migration is currently completely blurred".
Kurz and Strache stressed that decisions will be made together, like those on national welfare, for which a plan is being studied to reduce the family allowance from Austria abroad and use that money to encourage investments and, Therefore, the creation of new jobs. And again, hundreds of laws will be canceled introducing more administrative freedom and faster operations related to businesses and commerce: the executive's objective is to stimulate a greater possibility for companies to generate GDP. According to the new government, this would also benefit Austrians and the domestic economy.
L’Austria, who in the coming months when the terms of Brexit become effective will hold the rotating presidency of the Visegrad Group (made up of Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia), thus prepares itself to face the challenges of 2018 Also (or above all) in an EU key in the awareness that, as noted by the Chancellor a few days ago, «Migrants who intend to come to Europe do not want to go to Bulgaria or Hungary, but in Germany, Austria or Sweden".
Source: http://www.ilgiornale.it/news/politica/stranieri-caserme-e-disciplina-laustria-vuole-coprifuoco-1480337.html