Interior Minister Karl Nehammer met with Dutch Migration Minister Ankie Broekers-Knol and Justice Minister Ferdinand Grapperhaus on Friday, and visited the EU police authority Europol. It was Nehammer’s first visit to the Europol headquarters in The Hague, his spokesperson said.
The focus of the talks with Broekers-Knol is the joint fight against illegal migration and smuggling, as well as joint police cooperation to protect the EU’s external borders. Austria and the Netherlands have similar policies when it comes to migration, taking a hard line on resettlement policy for refugees. Vienna and The Hague have also campaigned in joint initiatives for deportations and effective EU external border protection.
Nehammer also indicated that he wants to discuss the fight against international terrorism, particularly measures against potential attackers. Advice should also be given on preventing hate crimes with Justice and Security Minister Grapperhaus. “The Netherlands has been a model for Austria since the beginning of the year with regard to the systematic recording of hate crimes,” emphasized Nehammer.
Austria’s minister of the interior will also meet Europol director Catherine de Bolle to talk about the fight against terrorism. According to the latest annual report by the authority in The Hague, terrorists are currently misusing the corona crisis for their own purposes. “Terrorists use every opportunity to undermine democratic structures, spread fear and radicalize society,” it says. In 2020, 57 terrorist attacks and attempted attacks were registered in the EU. Twenty-one people died, four of them in the attack in Vienna on November 2, 2020.
Reported in cooperation with the Austrian Press Agency / APA.
