Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache; Chancellor Sebastian Kurz. Photo supplied
Vienna refuses to sign UN Global Compact
Vienna announced on Wednesday that it would not sign the UN's Global Compact on Migration, citing concerns about sovereignty and legal confusion in the document as it joined neighboring Hungary in shunning the agreement.
Published: November 2, 2018, 6:56 am
Vienna
Austria’s interior minister, Herbert Kickl, denounced what he called “an almost irresponsibly naive pro-migration tone” in the UN document.
Kickl added: “It is simply not clear whether this pact, if we were to join it, would not at some point or somehow influence our body of law, even by the back door.”
The Austrian cabinet – a coalition between the conservative People’s party and the Freedom party – agreed that any attempt to establish a human right to migration, confuses the rights of asylum seekers with those of economic migrants.
“There are some points that we view critically and where we fear a danger to our national sovereignty,” Chancellor Sebastian Kurz told the Austria Press Agency.
Neither Kurz nor Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache will not sign the document or send an official representative from Austria to Marrakech.
“Migration is not and cannot become a human right,” Strache, Freedom Party’s leader, noted. “It cannot be that someone receives a right to migration because of the climate or poverty.”
The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, was formulated under UN auspices in July and is due to be approved at a meeting in Morocco, on 11 -12 December this year.
During the migration crisis of 2015, more than 90 000 people applied for asylum in Austria, more per capita than any other EU member state, the Guardian reported. The president of the Austrian bishops’ conference, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna, had rushed to the border to personally welcome the “refugees”.
But migrants flooding into the labour market is one of the reasons why more than 40 percent of Austrians now also regret joining the EU. The Visegrad countries in central Europe – Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia – have also clashed with the EU over mandatory migrant quotas.
On Thursday, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said that the difference between legal and illegal migration was becoming blurred. “I will be proposing to my partners in government that we act in the same way as Austria or Hungary,” he said, according to a parliamentary transcript.
Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic will not sign the Global Compact either, Croatian newsportal Direktno reported.
In a Facebook post, Croatian TV journalist Velimir Bujanec quoted an answer from the President that his editorial board had received. The President’s reply was forwarded by her spokeswoman, Ivana Crnić: “Your concern about illegal migration and the ‘Marrakesh Agreement’ is absolutely understandable. […] Be sure I will not sign the ‘Marrakech Agreement’.”
The US has also withdrawn from the compact, while Poland is considering not signing the accord.
According to The Washington Post, the compact has 23 objectives that seek to boost cooperation on migration and numerous actions ranging from the portability of earnings by migrant workers to reducing the detention of migrants.
In Brussels, Natasha Bertaud, a spokeswoman for the EU’s executive Commission, said at a regular press briefing they were seeking more details from Vienna.
“We continue to believe that migration is a global challenge where only global solutions and global responsibility-sharing will bring results,” she said. The European commission spokeswoman told the Guardian: “We regret the decision that the Austrian government has taken.”
Germany has reaffirmed its support for the Global Compact, with foreign ministry spokesman Rainer Breul stating it was “necessary and important”.
All rights reserved. You have permission to quote freely from the articles provided that the source (www.freewestmedia.com) is given. Photos may not be used without our consent.
Consider donating to support our work
Help us to produce more articles like this. FreeWestMedia is depending on donations from our readers to keep going. With your help, we expose the mainstream fake news agenda.
Keep your language polite. Readers from many different countries visit and contribute to Free West Media and we must therefore obey the rules in, for example, Germany. Illegal content will be deleted.
If you have been approved to post comments without preview from FWM, you are responsible for violations of any law. This means that FWM may be forced to cooperate with authorities in a possible crime investigation.
If your comments are subject to preview by FWM, please be patient. We continually review comments but depending on the time of day it can take up to several hours before your comment is reviewed.
We reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive, contain slander or foul language, or are irrelevant to the discussion.
Europe
New App Helps Locate Sweden’s Historic Runestones
A new app called Swedish Runestones will help locate historical gems.
Swedish military wants to remilitarize the Åland Islands
The demilitarized autonomy has previously been known as 'the islands of peace.
NOAA Predicts Zero Sunspots for Almost the Whole 2030s
CLIMATEThe United States' government scientific organization, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), predicts zero sunspots from 2031 to 2040. This is an extreme situation that has not occurred in as long as humanity has been counting sunspots, and it leads us into uncharted territory in terms of our solar system. However, this prediction aligns with the warnings of the world-renowned solar researcher Valentina Zharkova for many years, who indicated in 2019 various signs of this catastrophic phenomenon, including the extreme hailstorms we have seen in Europe and the world this summer. The forecast and various observations this year give cause for very significant concern. In this unique analysis, Free West Media explains why.
European Nationalist Parties Forge Cooperation Ahead of EU Elections
EUROPEAN ELECTIONSOn Saturday, August 26, representatives of six European nationalist parties gathered in Budapest. The meeting was initiated by the Hungarian party Mi Hazánk and took place in the national parliament. Representatives of the parties signed a joint declaration that not only reaffirms the parties' friendship but also their unity on a range of complex political issues. A surprisingly clear and radical manifesto was established. The hope is that this cooperation will lead to success in the EU elections and eventually result in the formation of a group in the European Parliament. For Swedish nationalism, this meeting marks a success as Sweden, for the first time, has a party represented in a leading nationalist cooperation in Europe. Free West Media was present at this historic event.
Turkey Believes Sweden Hasn’t Done Enough
Sweden will have to wait a bit longer for NATO membership, according to Turkey's Justice Minister Jilmaz Tunc. First, Sweden must extradite the "terrorists" Turkey wants and stop the desecration of the Quran.
Swedish Weapon Takes Down Russia’s Best Attack Helicopter
The Russian attack helicopter Ka-52 is considered one of the world's best and has struck fear in Ukraine, where it has hunted down tanks and other armored vehicles, often beyond the range of many light anti-aircraft systems. However, it has met its match in the Swedish air defense missile system RBS 70, which has quickly led to significant losses for the Russian helicopter forces.
The Sun Drives Earth’s Climate, Not Carbon Dioxide
Top Researchers Push Back Against Climate Lies."The correlation is as clear as day," explained the Israeli astrophysicist Nir Shaviv, who was hailed by the establishment, before his interview with Forbes was hastily deleted. What he says contradicts the climate narrative, which points to humans as responsible for Earth's climate. Shaviv firmly asserts that it is the sun that controls the climate, something that can be scientifically proven in many ways. Contrary to the popular belief, the sun's influence on Earth has, in recent years, caused unusually cold and rainy weather, a trend that solar researchers warn will worsen significantly in the coming decades. The sun has exhibited an unusually low activity since 2016, during Solar Cycle 24, which was the weakest in a century.
Strong Confidence in German AfD
Alternative for Germany (AfD) held a party conference on July 29-30 to select candidates for the upcoming EU election next year. EU Parliament member Maximilian Krah, belonging to the party's more radical, ethnonationalist faction, was appointed as the top candidate. The party's two spokespersons delivered powerful speeches criticizing the EU's failed migration policy and trade sanctions that isolate Europe and Germany from the rest of the world. They argued that it's time for the EU to return a significant portion of its power to national parliaments. However, they have dropped the demand for Germany to exit the EU.
The Establishment Wants to Ban Germany’s Second Largest Party – for the Sake of Democracy
The rising popularity of AfD has raised strong concerns within the establishment. Despite lies and demonization in the media and isolation from the overall political establishment, the party continues to grow. Certain representatives of the party are accused of becoming increasingly "extreme," and in an unusual move, the influential weekly newspaper Der Spiegel demanded that AfD be "banned."
Dutch FvD break through the media blockade
What is happening in the Netherlands? It is often difficult to follow events in other countries, especially when distorted by system media. We give Forum for Democracy (FvD) the opportunity to speak out on the political situation in the Netherlands and the staunch resistance they face in trying to save the country.
No comments.
By submitting a comment you grant Free West Media a perpetual license to reproduce your words and name/web site in attribution. Inappropriate and irrelevant comments will be removed at an admin’s discretion. Your email is used for verification purposes only, it will never be shared.