Austria, Slovenia Deny Refugees to be Transported Directly from Macedonia to Austria

The latest on the migrant crisis.

There is no agreement on direct transport of migrants from Macedonia to the Austrian border, said Slovenian and Austrian police after recent statements by Croatian Interior Minister Vlaho Orepić and Croatian Police Director Vlado Dominić. At the meeting between police directors there was no agreement on direct transport of refugees. It was agreed that assistance would be provided to Macedonia and that a common registration form will be introduced. That is significantly different agreement from the one which was described by Minister Orepić, reports Tportal and Index.hr on February 11, 2016.

Orepić and Dominić earlier said that trains would transport refugees directly from the Macedonian-Greek border to Austria, without stopping expect in case of a medical emergency. “At our last meeting in Skopje, we have agreed that we would try to transport these people from the Macedonian border to the border with Austria. When migrants board the train, they will remain in the train. Technical issues will be resolved by police directors on the ground. We will split the costs, and we will work together on this issue”, said the Minister and Police Director. However, this has been denied first by Slovenia and then by Austria as well. They reported that there was no agreement on direct transport of refugees.

Reacting to statements by Slovenia and Austria, Orepić said that their denials were a consequence of a misunderstanding. “I believe that the denial expressed by colleagues from Slovenia and Austria is a result of a communication misunderstanding”, said Orepić to journalists at the Interior Ministry. He showed them a document titled “Conclusions of the Meeting of Police Directors Held in Skopje, Macedonia, on 3 February 2016”, which was signed by Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia.

The conclusions state that it had been agreed that it was necessary to reduce the inflow of migrants in the next few months. Police cooperation and other issues were also discussed. However, the issue of transport of migrants is not mentioned. Orepić explained that the transport issue was the next challenge. “We have the intention for refugees to board a train and get everything necessary for humane and civilized transport. That is our direction, that is the intention of the Croatian Interior Ministry”, said Orepić.

Asked to comment on the statement by the State Secretary at the Slovenian Interior Ministry Boštjan Šefic who said that it was unacceptable to Slovenia that people would be transported to the border between Slovenia and Austria, and that this was unacceptable to Austria as well, Orepić said that the idea had not been formally rejected. “On two occasions I spoke with the Austrian Minister and she welcomed our general direction”, said Orepić. “We will visit all countries which are involved in this problem”, concluded the Minister.

 

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