Carinthia dismantles provisional asylum tents at the Italian border

Background: Decline in asylum applications

Karner justified the step with the development in illegal migration. "Die illegale Migration konnte zuletzt massiv zurückgedrängt werden. Das ermöglicht deutliche Einsparungen im Asylbereich", so Karner.

Since the beginning of the year, there have been only around 90 asylum applications in Carinthia. This sharply declining number is the immediate reason for the dismantling of the tents.

Security agreement and new projects

The focus of the exchange was also on the realization of the signed security agreement from 2025. The plans include in particular the new construction of the air operations center on the airport grounds in Klagenfurt and the creation of a tactical training center.

Karner confirmed that the ministry is working intensively on both projects. Gruber is also committed to a rapid implementation of both projects.

Gruber thanked the minister for the willingness to tackle these two projects, which are important for Carinthia, despite the austerity course at the federal level: "Ich bedanke mich beim Minister für die Bereitschaft, diese beiden für Kärnten wichtigen Projekte trotz Sparkurs auf Bundesebene in Angriff zu nehmen."

Significance of the border crossing

The provisional asylum tents at the Thörl-Maglern border crossing had been set up in recent years as an interim solution for arriving refugees. With the dismantling, a chapter of Carinthian asylum infrastructure comes to an end, which Fellner described as necessary but now outdated.

According to Karner, the freed-up funds are to be used for savings in the asylum sector. Fellner at the same time emphasized that the security cooperation between the federal government and the state will continue.

The Thörl-Maglern border crossing lies on the important connecting axis between Austria and Italy and has been one of the focal points of the refugee influx into Carinthia in recent years.