VIENNA, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Austrian Interior Minister Wolfgang Sobotka welcomed plans by the European Commission to allow the implementation of border controls in members for up to three years.
Up to now the limit for internal border controls as part of the Schengen agreement was six months for security reasons, and had subsequently been extended to two years on the back of the migrant crisis.
Austria had joined Germany and several other European states in calling for an extension to a four-year maximum duration for border controls. The Commission responded on Wednesday with the three-year proposal.
In an interview with the Austria Press Agency, Sobotka said it is clear that Austria wishes to continue its border protection efforts, in whichever form this happens to be.
The present limits, however, do not match the current threat of migration streams into Europe, the minister argued, and said as long as the outer borders of the European Union are not adequately protected, there is no alternative to border controls.
