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March 3: Plassnik on visa: "Our common objective: an abuse-free and safe visa system" |
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Foreign Minister expresses her view in the Parliament
Vienna, 3 March 2008 - Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik took the occasion of today’s extraordinary session in the National Council to once again explicitly express her view on the visa proceedings. "We all pursue the same objective: an abuse-free visa system that provides security for all Austrians. I will spare no expense or effort to assure Austrians that they can rely on the visa work carried out in the Foreign Ministry", stressed Plassnik.
At the same time, the Minister rejected all blanket accusations and pleaded for an objective debate. "There is no reason at all for spitefulness or blanket judgments. I shall reject blanket judgments against my Ministry’s staff with the same persistence and perseverance with which I confront and eliminate abuse. Visa security is a permanent issue not only for Austria but also for every foreign ministry in the Schengen Member States. The 95 Austrian Representations worldwide issue 400,000 visas each year. We are continuously working together with the Interior Ministry and our Schengen partners toward making the system even more resistant to abuse."
"Since I took office, I have introduced a wide series of measures, and I am consistently working on their implementation and improvement", stressed Plassnik. Apart from strengthening controls in collaboration with the Interior Ministry and the Schengen partners and intensifying training for consular officials - 37 such training courses took place in 2007 alone -, we also took clear steps on the personnel side. For instance, the former Foreign Ministry employee who was sentenced two weeks ago had already been dismissed more than two years ago. Upon the recommendation of the Court of Auditors, numerous improvements were carried out in the area of infrastructure, such as the construction of a new visa office in Moscow. "I myself installed a visa commission headed by former Foreign Minister Dr. Peter Jankowitsch in 2005, the recommendations of which have been implemented to the full."
The Minister pointed out that no one can completely rule out abuse or violation of the law by staff members. "In any case, I shall personally continue to engage with all emphasis and necessary seriousness to uncover, halt, and prevent any maladministration from happening in the future", underscored Plassnik. "No one has a greater interest in a visa system free of corruption and abuse than the Foreign Ministry and I am in my function as Head of the Ministry."
In doing so, the Foreign Ministry shall continue to collaborate closely with the justice department and the public prosecutor’s office. In view of the "press conference" held by the presiding judge at the announcement of the verdict in the visa proceedings on 22 February, Plassnik instructed an immediate and unannounced examination of the Austrian embassy in Belgrade. "We look into every piece of information, no matter where it comes from. Following the verdict on Monday, the head of the Ministry’s legal and consular section boarded the first flight to Belgrade. Based on the results of the examination, I can say that the visa system in the embassy in Belgrade is abuse-proof. The staff there is doing an excellent work under difficult conditions."
Contact:
Federal Ministry for European and
international Affairs Press Department
Tel.: ++43 (0) 50 1150-3262, 4549, 4550
Fax: ++43 (0) 50 1159-213
abti3(at)bmeia.gv.at
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