(Reuters) - Austria has moved four armored cars to the border with Italy to strengthen its action against illegal immigration, and plans to impose controls on the Brenner "very soon".
This was stated by Austrian defense officials, while for the Italian authorities the decision would infringe the rules of free movement established by Schengen.
“I expect border controls to be introduced very soon,” Defense Minister Peter Doskozil told the Kronzeitung newspaper.
Italy and Austria are both part of the Schengen area for free movement, which has recently entered into crisis with the exponential increase of migrants between 2015 and 2016.
There have so far been no official comments from Italy or the European Union.
Italy has welcomed over 80.000 refugees so far this year, many of them from Africa, making it the main gateway to Europe.
“It's not about tanks. But of unarmed heavy vehicles, which can block the roads. They have already been used in the 2015-16 refugee crisis in Spielfeld, on the border with Slovenia,” added a defense spokesman, recalling that the army is able to send 750 soldiers within 72 hours to deal with the emergency.
In the afternoon, the EU commission presented the action plan to alleviate the pressure of migrants on Italy.- The project envisages the commitment for a coordination center in Libya, the request for a code of conduct for NGO, the creation of rescue areas in Tunisia and Libya, the increase in the number of repatriations from Italy, which however must speed up the procedures.
Furthermore, the EU Commission urges the Member States to contribute more to the Fund for Africa, to complete the 2,6 billion euro contribution from the European budget and accelerate relocations from Italy. Not only that: it is expected to proceed with the reform of the Dublin regulation; as well as the mobilization by the Member States in relation to their capacity to support the returns of irregular migrants from Italy.
A new disbursement of 35 million euros is arriving from Brussels for the management of migration in Italy, according to the action plan. The European Commission is committed to further strengthening the capacity of the Libyan authorities with a 46 million euro project prepared jointly with Italy.
(Last update: 18.00).
