Increasing numbers of refugees: unrest in Austria – politics
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Hans Peter SiebenhaarVienna
Will Austria experience an influx of refugees via the Balkan route like in 2015? The former Vice Chancellor and ÖVP leader Michael Spindelegger clearly affirms this question. “In Austria we’ll probably see illegal border crossings this year like in 2015,” predicts Spindelegger, who has been head of the Vienna-based International Center for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) since 2016, in an interview with the Süddeutsche Zeitung. “Last year there was a massive increase in refugees on the Western Balkans route from North Macedonia via Serbia and Hungary to Austria and Germany. On the Western Balkans route we saw an increase of 190 percent last year compared to 2021. This is an alarm signal,” he says. The international organization with the awkward name employs 500 people and operates 30 offices worldwide. A total of 19 countries belong to the migration center, including Austria, Germany and Turkey.
