Austrian border barriers are

border barrier A border barrier, border fence or border wall is a separation barrier that runs along or near an international border. Such barriers are typically constructed for border control purposes such as curbing illegal immigration, human trafficking, a ...

s and migration management facilities constructed by

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

between November 2015 and January 2016 on its border with Slovenia and in 2016 on its border with

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, as a response to

European migrant crisis The 2015 European migrant crisis was a period of significantly increased movement of refugees and Human migration, migrants into Europe, mostly from the Middle East. An estimated 1.3 million people came to the continent to request Right of asyl ...

. They are located on internal

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

borders, since Austria, Italy, and Slovenia are members of the EU and the free travel

Schengen Area The Schengen Area ( , ) encompasses European countries that have officially abolished border controls at their common borders. As an element within the wider area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ) policy of the European Union (EU), it ...

with a common visa policy. The barrier on the Slovenian border is several kilometres long, located near the busiest border crossing,

Spielfeld Spielfeld ( Slovene: ''Špilje'') is a former municipality in the district of Leibnitz in Austrian state of Styria. Since the 2015 Styria municipal structural reform, it is part of the municipality Straß in Steiermark. It was an Austria-Slovenia ...

- Šentilj, and includes police facilities for screening and processing migrants. Another migration management facility with barriers located on Austria's Italian border near Brenner, South Tyrol was constructed in 2016. Austrian-Italian border at Portjoch

History

In November 2015, during the

announced its intention to begin construction of a

on its border with

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

. The stated aim of the barrier is to help control the flow of refugees and migrants. Both Austria and Slovenia are within the

. The fence will initially be built along at the busiest crossing from Slovenia into Austria, near

. According to Austrian Interior Minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner, the barrier will be 2.2 metres high. However, preparations will be put in place to enable the construction within 48 hours' notice of a fence along a stretch of the border, if needed. Construction began in early November. The border barrier was finished in January 2016. ManagingMigrationTogether

In February 2016 Austrian Interior Minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner announced that Austria will allow a maximum amount of 80 asylum applications in one day and a maximum of 3,200 asylum seekers who are allowed to cross the Austrian border if they apply in another country for asylum. If one of these two numbers is reached, Austria will close its borders. At the time of this announcement 200 people a day applied for asylum in Austria.Tageskontingent: Bei 80 Asylanträgen an Südgrenze ist Schluss
der Standard, 17. February 2016 Another migration management facility with barriers located on the Austria-Italian border near Brenner, South Tyrol was constructed in 2016.

Political context

Austria estimated that it would register 95,000 asylum claims in the first ten months of 2015, on a per capita, among the highest rates of migrant admittance within the European Union. The move came at a time of growing domestic pressure to restrict immigration. In early November, Heinz-Christian Strache, the leader of the

FPÖ The Freedom Party of Austria (, FPÖ) is a political party in Austria, variously described as far-right, right-wing populist, national-conservative, and Eurosceptic. It has been led by Herbert Kickl since 2021. It is the largest of five par ...

, sued Chancellor

Werner Faymann Werner Faymann (; born 4 May 1960) is an Austrian former politician who was Chancellor of Austria and chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) from 2008 to 2016. On 9 May 2016, he resigned from both positions amid widening critic ...

, Interior Minister Mikl-Leitner, Minister of Defense Gerald Klug and the ÖBB for alien smuggling and "failing to protect the country's borders" against the influx of migrants.

References

{{coord missing, Austria Border barriers constructed during the European migrant crisis Fortifications in Austria Austria–Slovenia border 2015 establishments in Austria 21st-century architecture in Austria

History

Political context

See also

References