Austrian Minister for EU and Constitution Edtstadler: EU will not accept Turkish threats

VIENNA — In response to Ankara’s increasingly combative rhetoric towards European immigration and refugee policy, Federal Minister for the EU and Constitution at the Federal Chancellery of Austria Karoline Edtstadler said that, “Turkey is using immigration and migrants as a tool to put pressure on the EU,” adding that the EU will accept that such pressure from any country.

After talks with Cypriot Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Christodoulides, Edtstadler said that countries on the EU’s external borders such as Cyprus would not be left alone to defend themselves amid an influx of new migrants.

She also urged the European Union to take action in what she described as “mandatory solidarity” to deal with migrant flows.