Sputnik: What consequences Austria may face after the country's authorities decision not to sign the UN Migration Treaty? What the main purpose of this treaty is?
Bill Ravotti: Austria faces absolutely no consequences for its decision to reject the UN Migration Compact, with the exception of the baseless attacks they will now receive from the EU media and other international organizations which promote open-borders and mass migration. On the contrary, this is why Austrians voted for Sebastian Kurz and his coalition partners at the Freedom Party. They want to stop illegal migration and the sovereignty to design its laws independently without undue influence from outside sources.
The UN is seeking to establish a global mechanism to cover "all dimensions of international migration in a holistic and comprehensive manner". In the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, adopted in September 2016, the General Assembly decided to develop a global compact for "safe, orderly and regular migration". The global compact for migration will be the first, intergovernmentally negotiated agreement, prepared under the auspices of the United Nations, to cover all dimensions of international migration in a holistic and comprehensive manner."
Bill Ravotti: No, it will only intensify the crisis and encourage more migrants to flock to Europe. It would be extremely detrimental to Europe, especially Italy and other nations in Central Europe. The V4 Report and others believe the UN wants to turn migration into a human right and to develop standards that will seriously "handcuff" nations from properly securing its borders. For example, it wants countries to agree to use "detention only as a measure of last resort" and advises nation states to "review and revise" laws and policies to ensure that decisions to detain are "based on law, are proportionate, have a legitimate purpose, and are taken on an individual basis" and should not be used "as a deterrent.
One cannot realistically stop illegal migration or deport migrants effectively without a policy of detainment, which is exactly why the open-border NGOs and philanthropists are pushing this disaster. The UN should be honest.They want to commit Europe and others to mass migration, especially Muslim migration.
Australia and Italy want to stop the boats while the UN and EU sister organizations want to promote and encourage migration…and will do all that they can to disable the integrity and independence of the nation state.
Sputnik: Can the EU force Austria to sign Migration Treaty?
Bill Ravotti: No, but like the Istanbul Convention, they will try to pressure them. In May 2018, EU Minister Federica Mogherini attacked Hungary in Brussels over opposition to the UN Compact.
Mogherini said, "Let me say that I regret that one of our Member States has recently presented a position that is not in line with the position of the 27 other Member States. Here our common work, and your contribution as Parliament will be essential: because together we can push towards inclusive and balanced Compacts, to improve the lives of millions of people, to address the concerns of the European citizens and to turn migration from a common challenge into a shared opportunity for human development".
Obviously, Hungary had other ideas and now others are again following the lead of Viktor Orban.
Sputnik: May the UN's agreement be considered a threat to the sovereignty of Austria?
Bill Ravotti: Yes and this comes straight from Chancellor Sebastian Kurz: "We have examined the UN migration pact thoroughly. Some of the points of the UN migration pact are opposed to the federal government, such as the mixing of migration and asylum. It is important and remains for us that Austria continues to design its laws independently. That is why Austria will not sign the migration pact."
Australia Immigration Minister Peter Dutton: "We're not going to surrender our sovereignty. I'm not going to allow unelected bodies to dictate to us, to the Australian people… "We're happy to negotiate in good faith but we're not going to sign any document that's not in our national interest and it's not in our national interest to sign our border protection policy over to the UN."
Sputnik: Hungary pulled out of UN's treaty this year (besides the US). Is there a chance that these countries will form an anti-immigration block?
Bill Ravotti: Not officially, but the US is very close with Poland, and after years of being smeared by the Obama administration, Hungary is developing better relations with US. The anti-migration alliance is more likely in the European election. We do not believe the EPP is a legitimate right-centered party to combat migration, and we believe Manfred Weber of Germany is a charlatan and fraud who wants to increase his power by expanding scope of EU.
After the 2019 elections, one may see an anti-migration alliance of Salvini, Orban, the Visegrad Group, the Freedom Party of Austria and other CEE nation states. Central Europeans want no part of the EU's plan to commit Europe to mass migration.
Sputnik: Why is everyone so excited about the refusal of Austria to UN Migration Treaty, if the step was in some way expected from the right-wing government?
Bill Ravotti: Many are uneasy with Kurz, who is very ambitious, and is also being pressured by the old OVP establishment (Othmar Karas) to embrace "EU solidarity". They despise the V4 and want Austria to follow Berlin. However, the FPO is very much in line with Viktor Orban and they provide a great influence on Kurz.
Some smaller countries may have been hesitant to defy the UN, but Austria's decision should have a big impact on others in Central Europe. Watch for more countries, especially from the CEE region, to follow soon.
The decision has shocked Germany, which is one of the main sponsors of this UN compact. Just a few years ago, Austria was one of Angela Merkel's closest allies and was seen as a mere "rubber stamp" for Berlin. With the Freedom Party in coalition with Kurz, this has changed dramatically.
The views expressed in this article are those of the speaker, and do not necessarily reflect those of Sputnik.