The EU must show solidarity towards states affected by migration flows, Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said as he was a guest at the trilateral meeting of the Northern Adriatic countries in Ancona on Monday.
Migration was at the centre of the meeting between the foreign ministers of Italy, Croatia and Slovenia in Ancona on Monday. The three aim to deepen their cooperation in tackling migration flows via the Balkan route in the upper Adriatic regions.
Schallenberg, who was invited as a guest, stressed “the importance of solidarity within the EU towards the states mainly affected by the migration problem” a Foreign Ministry press release reads, APA reported. Italy would be affected by the particularly high number of arrivals via the Mediterranean, but also Austria, he emphasised.
“In 2022, Austria had the largest number of asylum applications in Europe. And this despite the fact that Austria is surrounded by Schengen states and Schengen-associated states,” Schallenberg said, adding that Austria is at the “spearhead of the EU when it comes to regional cooperation”.
The agenda of the Ancona meeting included other key current issues such as Russia’s war in Ukraine and bringing the Western Balkan states closer to the EU.
“The Western Balkans must not be on the hard shoulder while Ukraine is in the fast lane,” Schallenberg stressed.
Italy, Croatia and Slovenia are part of the “Friends of the Western Balkans”, a group of seven EU member states launched by Schallenberg keen to speed up EU accession for Western Balkan states.
(Chiara Swaton | EURACTIV.de)
Read more with EURACTIV
Spain, Commission urge MEPs to adopt ‘comprehensive’ nature protection vision
Source: euractiv.com
