Austria, which is currently holding rotating presidency in the EU, warned that it is prepared to take measures for the protection of the country's southern borderwith Slovenia and Italy if the agrrement on the migration issue in Germany becomes government policy.
According to the Austrian government, if the deal reached on Monday between Chancellor Angela Merkel and German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer is endorsed by the government, "we will be obliged to take measures to avoid disadvantages for Austria and its people."
READ MORE: Austria to Be Tough on Migrants During EU Presidency — Report
The migration consensus in Germany prompted anxiety in Austria, since "Germany wants to take national measures to tackle migration flows," as said in the statement.
In June, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz suggested that Austrian, German and Italian interior ministers form "axis" against illegal immigration, which provoked criticism from France, with its President Emmanuel Macron warning that such "catchphrases" "did not bring luck" to Europe in the course of history.
READ MORE: Austria's President Has Sided With George Soros and Migrants – Hungarian FM
Since 2015 Europe has been facing its worst migration crisis since World War II, triggered by a number of armed conflicts and economic hardships in Africa and the Middle East. The EU has been struggling to accommodate hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing the war zones, but the measure to distribute the immigration burden among all member-states was not met with enthusiasm by many EU nations.
