As Austria prepares to take over the European Union presidency on July 1 in the midst of a continent-wide refugee crisis, the country's ambassador to Canada is urging Europe, the United States and Canada to clarify the rules on who counts as a refugee or a migrant.

"What we need to develop is a set of joint ideas on what is refugee status and what is migration," Stefan Pehringer said in an interview with Vassy Kapelos on CBC News Network's Power and Politics.

"Who is a refugee and who is a migrant? We're talking about two different statuses. It's perfectly legitimate to want to migrate to another country ... but being a refugee is something else and we do need to make that distinction."

Pehringer, who represents a hard-right coalition government that has taken an aggressive stance on immigration, called on all countries — including Canada and the U.S. — to define refugee status and migrant status "in a stringent way, but also in a humane way."

It's an echo of the message in a new report prepared for the Trudeau government that notes the growing trend of people using the asylum process in Canada instead of regular immigration channels.

The independent review says that Canada must streamline and expedite its refugee claim system.

Pehringer conceded that deciding who qualifies as a refugee and who is a migrant is a "very delicate question." Citing the recent U.S. immigration crackdown — which produced reams of reports about distraught migrant children taken from their parents — Pehringer called it "very disturbing and heartbreaking to see kids being separated from their families."

"I think the U.S. administration, the president — not unlike other countries — is struggling to define refugee status and migrant status," he added. "And we have to [define] it both in America and in Europe in a stringent way, but also in a humane way."

European leaders are headed into a key two-day summit on migration in Brussels beginning Thursday. The summit comes as a political crisis is worsening on the continent over migration, with countries such as Italy and Malta refusing to let migrant rescue ships dock in their harbours.
• EU papers over differences after 'frank' talks on migration

Austria is preparing to push for stricter migration policy in Europe as part of its presidency. According to an Austrian government document obtained by the Financial Times, it's looking into the possibility of creating a new protection system in which asylum seekers would file applications before entering Europe.

Another proposal being considered by the EU would expand upon the idea of creating camps in North Africa to house migrants rescued at sea.

Pehringer said Austria's tough approach to migration policy — led by 31-year-old far-right Chancellor Sebastian Kurz — is necessary following the 2015 surge of migrants to various European countries in 2015.

Austria itself received 150,000 asylum applications in the immediate wake of the crisis, according to Eurostat — approximately 1.7 per cent of the population of 8.7 million.

But the crisis seems to be abating now, with total new arrivals in the Mediterranean well below half of what they were one year ago, says the UN Refugee Agency.

"We have lower numbers coming now, but for a moment which might come where you have more refugees coming in, you have to be ready," Pehringer said.

Pehringer also apologized on behalf of Kurz after the chancellor recently called for "an axis of the willing against illegal migration" between Italy, Germany and Austria.

"He admitted maybe it would have been better to use the term 'alliance' instead of 'axis' because 'axis' might be historically loaded," Pehringer said. "But please do believe me, and do believe the chancellor, that the axis of very bad times in European history was not what the chancellor had in mind. He was talking about an alliance, a union between countries."</s>Lorne Cook and David Rising, The Associated Press 

 



BRUSSELS -- European Union leaders vowed Thursday to move forward with plans to screen migrants in northern Africa for asylum eligibility to dissuade many of them from setting out for the continent, part of a desperate attempt to shore up EU unity.

Based on the success of an EU-Turkey deal that outsourced responsibility for strengthening Europe's borders refugees to the Turkish government in exchange for billions in refugee aid, EU leaders want to expand the idea with "regional disembarkation platforms" in Africa.

The costly endeavours reflect the anxiety in Europe over migration, which is turning into a political crisis even though the number of people reaching Europe's shores this year has dropped substantially.

A dispute over how Europe should manage migration has deepened since an anti-EU government with a strong anti-migrant streak assumed power in Italy this month. German Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition government also is in turmoil over her welcoming policy on refugees fleeing conflict.

Details about the new "platforms" are sketchy, but the plan involves erecting a virtual wall in northern Africa by placing people who try to leave for Europe in centres in countries like Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Niger and Tunisia. European Union funds would be used to persuade the countries to sign on, though none has signalled interest so far.

Morocco's director of migration and border surveillance, Khalid Zerouali, told The Associated Press that the kingdom isn't interested in hosting a screening station for migrants, saying "that's not the solution."

Migrants sometimes use Morocco as a jumping-off point to Spain. The border chief said that so far this year, some 25,000 have been stopped. Spain has seen a surge in migrants coming across the sea this year.

The absence of enthusiasm in Africa is not discouraging EU leaders. EU Council President Donald Tusk, who was chairing a 2-day leaders' summit in Brussels, said partnering with countries outside the EU is the best approach.

"The alternative to this solution would be a chaotically advancing closure of borders, also within the EU, as well as growing conflicts among EU member states," Tusk said. "Some may think I am too tough in my proposals on migration. But trust me: If we don't agree on them, then you will see some really tough proposals from some really tough guys."

One of those "tough guys" is Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who deployed troops to Hungary's border and erected a razor-wire fence to keep migrants out.

"The invasion should be stopped, and to stop the invasion means to have (a) strong border," Orban told reporters Thursday.

The worsening tensions come despite a decline in the number of migrants reaching Europe.

The International Organization for Migration estimates that around 80,000 people will enter Europe by sea this year, based on current trends. That's around half as many as in 2017.

Yet anti-migrant parties have made significant political gains, mostly recently in Italy, which along with Greece and Spain is among the preferred landing destinations for people from Africa seeking better lives.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte is demanding a fundamental change in EU migration policy, saying that his country has received little help even though it was on the front line.

Orban was among four EU leaders who rejected a refugee quota scheme meant to ease the pressures on Italy and Greece.

"Italy doesn't need any more verbal signs, but concrete deeds," Conte said, insisting that the responsibility needed to be shared more equitably across the EU.

Merkel, for her part, is fighting a battle at home and abroad against critics who accuse her of endangering European security with her hospitality. Her conservative coalition is under pressure from the far-right Alternative for Germany.

The party has seen a surge in support since 2015 -- when well over 1 million people entered Europe, mostly fleeing conflicts in Syria and Iraq. Populist leaders in southern and eastern Europe have rejected Merkel's calls for a wholesale reform of Europe's migration system.

But Merkel is deeply aware of the threat the issue poses to Europe, notably to its Schengen passport-free travel area -- one of the jewels in the EU crown -- that allows easy cross-border business and travel.

"Europe has many challenges, but that of migration could determine the fate of the European Union," Merkel told German lawmakers Thursday before heading to the summit.

The partner in Merkel's coalition government is demanding that migrants be turned away at Germany's border with Austria. EU officials fear such a move would set off a domino effect, leading Austria to seal its border with Italy, and Italy to fully close its ports to migrants rescued at sea.

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said he hoped the summit would be a turning point.

"Being rescued in the Mediterranean must not automatically become a ticket to central Europe," said Kurz, another supporter of the Africa plan.

Brussels wants the IOM and U.N. refugee agency to oversee their Africa plan, but they prefer to work inside the EU.

With the summit underway, screening was taking place in Malta of 234 people who spent nearly a week at sea on a humanitarian rescue vessel, to determine whether they are eligible for asylum and relocation to one of eight EU nations.

The government said three babies and three adults were being treated at a hospital.

Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat opened the country's main port to the German-run ship Lifeline after other EU nations agreed to accept some of the rescued passengers. He said those deemed "economic migrants" will be sent back to where they came from.

Maltese officials seized the ship, citing irregularities in the sea rescue. The captain is under investigation.

Rising, Frank Jordans and Geir Moulson reported from Berlin. Raf Casert in Brussels contributed.</s>Austria carries out border exercise as EU states refuse to allow migrant rescue ship to dock

Austria carries out border exercise as EU states refuse to allow migrant rescue ship to dock

Austrian police carry out an exercise at the Spielfeld border crossing, with police cadets as 'migrants'

Hundreds of Austrian police and soldiers have carried out an exercise on the Slovenian border over fears of a repeat of the 2015 migrant crisis.

Two Black Hawk helicopters hovered over the border on Tuesday as police cadets played the role of migrants standing at gates asking to be allowed in.

More than 500 police officers and 220 soldiers took part at the border crossing of Spielfeld as hundreds of migrants crossed the Mediterranean, causing conflict between EU states as each refused to take another boatload in.

"A state which can't protect its borders when needed loses its credibility," said Austrian interior minister Herbert Kickl, who oversaw the exercise along with defence minister Mario Kunasek.

Both politicians are members of the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe), which became the junior partner last year in a coalition government under conservative Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.

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Image: Defence minister Mario Kunasek (L) and interior minister Herbert Kickl in front of soldiers during the operation

It was the first military exercise for the new police border protection force, with 600 officers and dubbed the Puma unit.

The government is at pains to prevent a repetition of the summer of 2015 when several thousand migrants passed through Spielfield as part of the Balkan route towards northern Europe.

Local police said almost no migrants are currently crossing there, but the coalition government fears a domino effect if Germany closes its borders.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is facing increasing pressure from her conservative allies in Bavaria to turn migrants back at the border, a move which could prompt other states to do the same.

Last week Mr Kurz said it would be a "catastrophe" if the EU did not agree a common position on migration.

The Austrian government's position is in line with Italy, who last week refused to allow a ship of 629 migrants rescued from off the Italian coast to dock, despite asking the ship to pick them up.

Malta also refused to take them and Spain, which was further away, eventually said they would take the migrants who were onboard French aid ship Aquarius.

Aquarius migrants arrive in port of Valencia

A German NGO-operated rescue ship, Lifeline, has now been stuck in international waters near Malta with 234 migrants on board for days as EU countries refuse to offer safe harbour.

On Tuesday afternoon Italy said it would take some of the migrants after reaching a deal with Malta.

Its premier, Giuseppe Conte, said he hoped other EU countries would follow suit.

However, a tweet from the ship itself said they had been refused entry into Maltese waters on Tuesday evening.

The crew said they had been having to rely on media reports as they were not being contacted directly before they were refused entry on Tuesday.

Portugal has offered to take in some migrants, with the centre-left socialist government saying it will know how many if the ship docks in Malta.

Malta's leader Joseph Muscat said EU nations need to share the responsibility "to prevent escalation into humanitarian crisis".

Image: Lifeline is stuck in the Mediterranean with hundreds of migrants onboard

He said he would allow the stranded ship to dock if other EU states agreed to take in some of those onboard, but did not confirm if they had.

Mr Muscat added that Malta plans to investigate Lifeline's captain as it claims he ignored instructions from Italy's rescue command centre.

Spain's prime minister Pedro Sanchez said his country is prepared to be part of a joint European response to the stranded ship but has not specified whether it will allow it to dock or how many migrants it will take.

French President Emmanuel Macron also said France will take in migrants from Lifeline, and insisted that Europe is not in the middle of a migration crisis but a political crisis.

Italy's premier Giuseppe Conte reacted by saying Mr Macron should "open the doors of his own home to the 9,000 migrants France was committed to taking from Italy" under European Union accords to share the numbers of migrants across EU states.

"French arrogance is no longer fashionable in Italy," he added.

Spain's maritime rescue service said it picked up just over 400 people from the Mediterranean on Tuesday as migrants rush to reach Spain from North Africa while the weather remains fair.

Image: Migrants rescued in Mediterranean

That brings the total number of migrants rescued in four days of calm seas to about 1,800.

On Tuesday afternoon Theresa May told the Greek prime minister that Britain is sending an extra border force patrol boat to the Mediterranean to help with the migrant crisis.

Their talks came as authorities in the newly-named Republic of Northern Macedonia said two migrants were killed and six severely injured when a smuggling van carrying 23 people crashed into a barrier on a motorway in the east of the country.

A police spokeswoman said they were all men aged 20-30 from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.</s>Austria today staged a dramatic border protection exercise as it prepares to assume the EU presidency and push for hardline immigration measures as the bloc is gripped by increasingly bitter divisions over the migrant crisis.

Austrian leader Sebastian Kurz will assume the EU's rotating presidency on July 1 and has vowed to make migrants claim asylum before entering the bloc.

That policy echoes the position of Italy, which has started turning away migrant vessels and proposed setting up processing centres in Libya and other countries of origin.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is also locked in a struggle with her hardline government coalition partners that threatens to topple her government, and a summit between EU leaders on Sunday made little progress on tackling the crisis.

Kurz fears if Germany unilaterally closes its southern border then other EU nations will follow suit.

Today heavily armed policemen - wearing helmets and body armour while carrying riot shields - were on display to show Germany that Austria is willing to shut its own borders if Merkel's interior minister follows through with his threat to close the Bavarian frontier.

Thousands of migrants poured through Europe's open borders daily three years ago, triggering a humanitarian and political crisis that has left deep divisions on the continent.

But relatively few migrants pass through the Austria-Slovenia frontier near the town of Spielfeld today, where the exercises were held.

Speaking to German daily Bild, Austrian Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache said his country was testing out its new 'Puma police border protection unit' for the first time.

He added: 'We want to prepare ourselves for all developments and send a clear signal that there will no longer be a loss of control and free passage like in 2015.

'The reasons for this are the debate about intra-European border closures, triggered by Germany, as well as current developments on the refugee routes in the Balkans.'

It comes after more than half of the EU's leaders met in Brussels on Sunday to grapple with a resurgent political crisis over migration that threatens to tear the bloc apart.

With police dogs and armoured vehicles, the Austrians today stood in front of a fence as actors - police cadets - posed as migrants during the drill.

Chancellor Kurz said at the weekend that he would 'be ready and do everything necessary to protect our borders' if Horst Seehofer, Germany's interior minister, goes ahead with plans to protect his country's southern frontier.

He added: 'That would mean securing the border on the Brenner [Pass] and other locations... [though] I want to help ensure it doesn't get that far.'

That dispute within the German coalition has prompted worries within the EU that there will be a domino effect of member nations tightening their borders.

Seehofer is allied with Austria's Kurz, whose country on July 1 takes over from Bulgaria the six-month rotating EU presidency.

Today, meanwhile, Italy's deputy prime minister said its coastguard and navy should ignore SOS calls from migrant boats in the Mediterranean.

Matteo Salvini has already warned foreign charities to stop picking up migrants off Libya, accusing them of 'causing trouble' and saying Italian ports 'are and will be closed to those who aid human traffickers.'

Salvini, also the country's interior minister, made the comments after a surprise visit to Libya, a key departure point for thousands of migrants making the dangerous crossing to Europe.

On his return to Rome, he was asked for his views on reported plans for Italian maritime authorities to ignore SOS calls made by migrant vessels in the Mediterranean.

He said of the proposals - reportedly being considered by the minister of transport - that 'if that was the decision, it would have my full support' adding that Libya's coastguard authorities was capable of marshalling its own coastline.

It comes as hundreds of migrants remained stranded at sea in the Mediterranean, deepening a crisis shaking Europe.

In Tripoli, Salvini called for the establishment of processing centres in various unnamed African countries to deal with potential migrants in a move 'to help Libya as well as Italy block migration'.

Libya is a key departure point for thousands of migrants hoping to reach Europe, although hundreds drown each year attempting the crossing.

Salvini's unexpected trip came a day after emergency talks between 16 European Union leaders in a bid to break a longstanding deadlock over who should take in the migrants, the bulk of whom have been landing in Italy and Greece.

The crisis came to a head earlier this month when Italy's new populist government turned away a rescue boat carrying 630 people, which was also rejected by Malta, forcing the vessel to remain at sea until Spain offered them safe haven.

But the relief was short-lived, with Italy and Malta refusing a second vessel carrying 234 migrants who were rescued on Thursday.

The move left Germany-operated rescue boat Lifeline stranded in international waters near Malta.

'Let's see if Europe remembers that it actually exists because there is still a boat loaded with migrants in Maltese waters waiting for a port to welcome it and we can tell you again, it won't be in an Italian port,' Salvini said.

Austria has suggested that Albania could be used to process illegal migrants outside of the EU before sending them 'back to their countries of origin as soon as possible'.

Chancellor Kurz confirmed Austria is working with Denmark and other countries to work out a solution to the migration crisis involving non-EU members.

Under the so-called Dublin rules, asylum-seekers must be processed in the country where they first arrive, often Mediterranean countries like Italy, Greece and Spain.

EU leaders last December had set the end of June as a deadline to reform the rules by establishing a permanent mechanism to relocate asylum-seekers throughout the bloc.

With such reform elusive, Merkel is now pushing for bilateral, trilateral and multilateral deals.

Merkel also got Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte to attend the mini-summit by telling him pre-written conclusions had been withdrawn, Italian officials said.

Draft conclusions included calls to speed up returns to countries tasked with processing them, such as Italy.

Rome on Saturday accused French President Emmanuel Macron of 'arrogance' for turning back migrants at the French-Italian border.

Ahmed Maiteeq, deputy head of the Government of National Accord (GNA), said Libya would host a migration summit in September.

Earlier, he told Italy's La Repubblica daily that Europe 'must think of structural measures to take in African countries to stop migrants.'

On his return to Rome, Salvini said a technical team would be set up this week with representatives from Italy, Niger, Chad and Mali.

He dismissed calls by France and Spain for asylum-seekers to be kept in closed centres until their claims are processed - a proposal Rome fears would turn Italy into 'a refugee camp for all of Europe'.

'Welcome hotspots in Italy? It would be a problem for us and for Libya itself because it would not stop these deadly waves (of migration). We have proposed reception centres south of Libya to avoid Tripoli becoming a funnel, like Italy,' he wrote on Twitter.

'The only way to really counteract the traffickers' criminal interests and avoid these voyages of death is to stop these boats putting out to sea,' he added in a separate statement.

The crisis has seen France's Emmanuel Macron accusing Rome of 'irresponsibility' for turning away the boats, and Italy denouncing Paris for its hypocrisy in pushing migrants back across their shared border.

In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel is facing an ultimatum from her hardline interior minister who has given her until the end of June to find a European deal to curb new arrivals.

Sunday's emergency EU leaders meeting had aimed to clear the air between member states ahead of a scheduled full summit on Thursday and Friday.

Both Macron and Merkel have vowed to forge ahead with like-minded leaders on ways to reduce migrant flows, but the EU's top migration official warned that Europe would solve the crisis only by working together.

'We must find a way to adopt a shared policy and a shared strategy to face this situation, otherwise the European project is in danger,' Dimitris Avramopoulos told AFP on a visit to Tehran.</s>Fearful of a domino effect if Germany closes its borders, Austria staged a high-profile training exercise Tuesday to show how it could deal with an influx of refugees along its frontier with Slovenia.

Hundreds of police in heavy armor, backed by soldiers and ‘Black Hawk’ helicopters flying overheard, performed a dry run for the media near Spielfeld, 175 kilometers (110 miles) south of Vienna. The town was a major crossing point for migrants in late 2015, but has hardly seen any arrivals recently.

The “migrants” were played by 200 Austrian police cadets, who chanted and rattled the metal fence, demanding to be let in.

Austria’s top security official said the exercise was necessary and lawful, dismissing concerns at home and abroad.

“A state which, if things come to a head, can’t protect its borders effectively, loses its credibility,” Interior Minister Herbert Kickl told reporters. “I’m strongly determined that events like those in 2015 must never happen again.”

Kickl said he wanted to prevent people from abusing the right to asylum. “This has nothing to do with inhumanity, this isn’t unlawful, this isn’t indecent,” he said. “This is what the law demands from us. It is what the people expect from us.”

Kickl’s far-right Freedom Party has pushed for a hard line against migrants for years and saw a surge in support following the 2015 migrant crisis, when thousands of people fleeing war and hardship at home poured through Europe’s open borders daily, triggering a humanitarian and political crisis that has left deep divisions on the continent.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is under heavy pressure from conservative allies in Bavaria to turn migrants who come through other European countries back at the border.

Merkel, whose decision to allow migrants stuck in Austria and Hungary to come to Germany was initially welcomed by voters, has warned that unilaterally closing borders could prompt the triggering of a string of national measures by individual countries that would further divide Europe.

Speaking in Berlin, Merkel said most EU countries are more concerned about preventing migrants from illegally entering Europe in the first place.

Neighboring Slovenia protested the Austrian exercise, saying its own forces are already doing enough to protect the external borders of the Schengen travel zone within which Europeans can travel freely without passports.

In a letter to Kickl earlier in June, Slovenian Interior Minister Vesna Gyorkos Znidar said a “show of mass arrival of illegal migrants from the Slovenian to the Austrian side would inevitably have a very negative effect in Slovenia and likely in Austria.”

She argued the exercise would “contribute in no way whatsoever to the good relationship between our countries or our joint efforts to control the migration situation in the region,” the STA news agency reported.

One Austrian police union criticized the fact that Tuesday’s practice run, which included the first public appearance of Austria’s new PUMA border force, had itself been practiced before media were invited to watch.

Meanwhile, Martin Sellner, who heads Austria’s Identitarian Movement, applauded the fact that authorities were using the same “#proborders” hashtag favored by his white nationalist group to inform the public about the exercise.</s>Austria has held a high-profile training exercise to show how it could deal with an influx of refugees along its frontier with Slovenia.

Austria has held a high-profile training exercise to show how it could deal with an influx of refugees along its frontier with Slovenia.

Austrian police and army hold training exercise to keep out migrants

The town was a major crossing point for migrants in late 2015, but has hardly seen any arrivals recently. The “migrants” were played by 200 Austrian police cadets, who chanted and rattled the metal fence, demanding to be let in.

Austria’s top security official said the exercise was necessary and lawful, dismissing concerns at home and abroad. “A state which, if things come to a head, can’t protect its borders effectively loses its credibility,” interior minister Herbert Kickl told reporters.

“I’m strongly determined that events like those in 2015 must never happen again.” Kickl said he wanted to prevent people from abusing the right to asylum.

“This has nothing to do with inhumanity, this isn’t unlawful, this isn’t indecent,” he said. “This is what the law demands from us. It is what the people expect from us.”

Kickl’s far-right Freedom Party has pushed for a hard line against migrants for years and saw a surge in support following the 2015 migrant crisis, when thousands of people fleeing war and hardship at home poured through Europe’s open borders daily.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is under pressure from conservative allies in Bavaria to turn migrants who come through other European countries back at the border. Merkel, whose decision to allow migrants stuck in Austria and Hungary to come to Germany was initially welcomed by voters, has warned that unilaterally closing borders could prompt the triggering of a string of national measures by individual countries that would further divide Europe.

Speaking in Berlin, Merkel said most EU countries were more concerned about preventing migrants from illegally entering Europe in the first place. Neighboring Slovenia protested against the Austrian exercise, saying its own forces were already doing enough to protect the external borders of the Schengen travel zone within which Europeans can travel freely without passports.

“I even see it (the exercise) as somewhat provocative,” Slovenian Prime Minister Miro Cerar said on Tuesday, according to the official STA news agency. Cerar said the number of migrants entering Austria from Slovenia has not increased and described his country as an “exemplary” protector of the Schengen border.</s>Fearful of a domino effect if Germany closes its borders, Austria staged a high-profile training exercise yesterday to show how it could deal with an influx of refugees along its frontier with Slovenia.

Hundreds of police in heavy armor, backed by soldiers and ‘Black Hawk' helicopters flying overheard, performed a dry run for the media near Spielfeld, 175 kilometers (110 miles) south of Vienna. The town was a major crossing point for migrants in late 2015, but has hardly seen any arrivals recently.

The migrants were played by 200 Austrian police cadets, who chanted and rattled the metal fence, demanding to be let in.

Austria's top security official said the exercise was necessary and lawful, dismissing concerns at home and abroad.

"A state which, if things come to a head, can't protect its borders effectively, loses its credibility," Interior Minister Herbert Kickl told reporters. "I'm strongly determined that events like those in 2015 must never happen again."

Kickl said he wanted to prevent people from abusing the right to asylum. "This has nothing to do with inhumanity, this isn't unlawful, this isn't indecent," he said. "This is what the law demands from us. It is what the people expect from us."

Kickl's far-right Freedom Party has pushed for a hard line against migrants for years and saw a surge in support following the 2015 migrant crisis, when thousands of people fleeing war and hardship at home poured through Europe's open borders daily, triggering a humanitarian and political crisis that has left deep divisions on the continent.

Meanwhile, Martin Sellner, who heads Austria's Identitarian Movement, applauded the fact that authorities were using the same "#proborders" hashtag favored by his white nationalist group to inform the public about the exercise.</s>Austria has held a high-profile training exercise to show how it could deal with an influx of refugees along its frontier with Slovenia.

Hundreds of police in heavy armour, backed by soldiers and Black Hawk helicopters flying overhead, performed a dry run for the media near Spielfeld, 110 miles south of Vienna.

The town was a major crossing point for migrants in late 2015, but has hardly seen any arrivals recently.

Kickl’s far-right Freedom Party has pushed for a hard line against migrants for years and saw a surge in support following the 2015 migrant crisis, when thousands of people fleeing war and hardship at home poured through Europe’s open borders daily.

It triggered a humanitarian and political crisis that has left deep divisions on the continent.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is under pressure from conservative allies in Bavaria to turn migrants who come through other European countries back at the border.

Merkel, whose decision to allow migrants stuck in Austria and Hungary to come to Germany was initially welcomed by voters, has warned that unilaterally closing borders could prompt the triggering of a string of national measures by individual countries that would further divide Europe.

Speaking in Berlin, Merkel said most EU countries were more concerned about preventing migrants from illegally entering Europe in the first place.

Neighboring Slovenia protested against the Austrian exercise, saying its own forces were already doing enough to protect the external borders of the Schengen travel zone within which Europeans can travel freely without passports.

“I even see it (the exercise) as somewhat provocative,” Slovenian Prime Minister Miro Cerar said on Tuesday, according to the official STA news agency.

Cerar said the number of migrants entering Austria from Slovenia has not increased and described his country as an “exemplary” protector of the Schengen border.</s>Austria deployed police, soldiers and Black Hawk military helicopters yesterday in an exercise overseen by the far-right interior minister which enacted the arrival of hundreds of migrants on its border with Slovenia.

Austria deployed police, soldiers and Black Hawk military helicopters yesterday in an exercise overseen by the far-right interior minister which enacted the arrival of hundreds of migrants on its border with Slovenia.

The drill, designed to show Austria's preparedness for any repeat of Europe's migration crisis, dovetailed with the right-wing government's efforts to discourage migrants from setting off to find a home in central Europe.

Austria took in more than 1pc of its population in asylum seekers during the 2015-2016 migration crisis, and Chancellor Sebastian Kurz's conservatives won last year's election pledging to prevent a repeat of that influx. They govern in coalition with the far-right Freedom Party. "A state that in the worst case cannot protect its borders loses its credibility," Interior Minister Herbert Kickl of the Freedom Party said.

"I am determined that events like those of 2015 must not occur again. And that is exactly the message we want to send from here." But neighbouring Slovenia said the drill exaggerated the risk of another influx.

"The exercise is not needed. I see it even as a little provocative," Slovenian Prime Minister Miro Cerar said. The exercise was carried out at Spielfeld, a crossing where Austria set up a large crowd-management system in early 2016 designed to handle up to 11,000 people a day, only for the number of arrivals to collapse soon afterwards.

In contrast to a smaller exercise held under the previous government, yesterday's drill did not involve migrants being violent or any arrests. But five military helicopters, including two Black Hawks, hovered overhead. Two hundred trainee police officers acted the part of migrants.

Migration has returned to the top of the political agenda in Europe after the Bavarian sister party to German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats last week gave her an ultimatum to broker a European immigration deal. The issue threatens to wreck her coalition government.

After meeting Germany's Bavarian interior minister this month, Mr Kurz called for an "axis of the willing" on illegal immigration including Italy, where the far right is also in government. He is pushing for the European Union to set up centres outside its territory where asylum claims can be processed. He also wants migrants rescued in the Mediterranean to be taken back to Africa rather than transported to Europe.</s>Hundreds of Austrian soldiers and police were involved in a border protection exercise that simulated containing migrants amid fears neighboring Germany might begin to turn away new arrivals trying to cross their frontier.

Austrian authorities deployed 600 police, 400 soldiers and two Black Hawk helicopters on Tuesday in an exercise which simulated arrival of hundreds of migrants on the country’s border with Slovenia, local media reported.

"A state that in the worst case cannot protect its borders loses its credibility," Interior Minister Herbert Kickl of the far-right Freedom Party (FPO) told reporters, as cited by Reuters. “I am determined that events like those of 2015 must not occur again. And that is exactly the message we want to send from here.”

Migrants seeking to cross the border were portrayed by 200 police cadets. The crowd, that acted peacefully was split by security forces and fed through a system of fences and police barriers. Previous excercises, although smaller in scale, had ‘migrants’ acting violently and arrests.

The exercise was previously announced by Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache – also a member of FPO – who told Germany’s Bild newspaper the drills will mark establishment of a new border police force called ‘Puma’.

“Doing this exercise on the border between Austria and Slovenia, we want to arm ourselves for all developments and send out a clear signal that there will no longer be a loss of control like the one that happened in 2015,” he reiterated.

"The reasons for this are the debate about intra-European border closures, triggered by Germany, as well as current developments on the refugee routes in the Balkans,” Strache said. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is currently locked in a struggle with her hardline coalition partners that threaten to start rejecting incoming migrants who already filed for asylum in other EU states.

While a summit between EU leaders on Sunday made little progress on tackling the issue, Austria fears if Germany unilaterally closes its southern border, other EU nations might follow suit.

The exercise took place at Spielfeld, a border crossing furnished with a large crowd management system. The facility, set up in 2016, is said to be able to handle up to 11,000 people per day.

Neighboring Slovenia however said the drill ramped up the risk of another refugee influx. "The exercise is not needed. I see it even as a little provocative," Slovenian Prime Minister Miro Cerar was quoted as saying by national news agency STA, according to Reuters.
Austrian troops and police conduct a border exercise simulating a possible mass arrival of migrants similar to one in 2015, amid tensions within the European Union over migrant rescue ships and fears that Germany may close its borders.