Austria said that the level of illegal immigration is still too high and that Romania and Bulgaria should do more to prevent it before joining the EU

Austria, has been leading the opposition within the European Union against the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen Area of free movement, stated on Monday that it is willing to make concessions but only in terms of air travel and in exchange for enhanced security at the EU external borders.

This information is reported by Reuters.

At a meeting of EU interior ministers a year ago, where Romania and Bulgaria hoped to receive approval for joining the world's largest free movement zone, Austria expressed concerns about the persistently high level of illegal immigration. Austria insisted that both countries should take additional measures to prevent illegal immigration before joining the EU.

The Austrian ruling conservative People's Party (OVP) has been making the fight against illegal immigration a key issue in its electoral campaigns for many years. With parliamentary elections scheduled for the next year, the far-right Freedom Party, which shares similar views on migration with the OVP, confidently leads in public opinion polls.

"Yes, I can imagine changes at the airports of Romania and Bulgaria", stated the Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner in an interview with ORF radio, adding that he has already sent a position paper to the European Commission and is now awaiting its response.

"On the other hand, there are clear conditions for such a compromise, namely significant strengthening of the protection of the EU external border, maintaining border checks, and redirecting asylum seekers to Bulgaria and Romania", he said, referring to individuals passing through these countries to reach Austria.

In particular, Karner expressed the desire to triple the number of border police and update technical equipment, especially at the border between Bulgaria and Turkey and Romania and Serbia.

If his demands are met, passport controls between Romania and Bulgaria and the Schengen countries could be lifted, but only for air travel – a decision he referred to as the "air Schengen".