Kurtz calls for urgent EU meeting on asylum seekers

Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurtz is calling for an urgent meeting of EU heads of state and government due to problems with asylum seekers, reports the Patria News Agency. In an interview with the Viennese daily “Esterajh”, he said it would be “irresponsible” for a meeting on this topic to be held only in mid-October, as planned.

Kurtz said that “even the UN, which is not known for acting quickly, has scheduled a session for September 30”.

Europe, according to him, must “wake up”, pointing out that tragic events, such as the death of 71 refugees in a truck found in Austria, are a tragic wake-up call.

The slow action of EU countries, as well as the insistence on respecting the Dublin Regulation, he points out, only fuels the business of smugglers.

“By suppressing and looking away, the situation only gets worse. That is why we proposed a five-point plan. In the future, there should be an option to apply for asylum in the EU in countries outside the Union. This requires a decision at the EU level,” Kurtz explained.

The head of Austrian diplomacy presented a five-point proposal at the beginning of the week to resolve the refugee crisis, which includes fighting the Islamic State, establishing safe zones on the ground, reception centers in the region, as well as increased monitoring along the Balkan route and involving Western Balkan countries in resolving the asylum seeker problem.

Austria also insists on a fair distribution of asylum seekers among all EU member states.