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Austria: Refugees cannot pick and choose among EU nations

A baby peers from a tent looking at the northern Greek border station of Idomeni, Monday, March 14, 2016. Bad weather returned after a brief pause and conditions in the refugee camp on the Greek-Macedonian border where about 14,000 people are stranded have further deteriorated, many of its residents struggling to cope with the many challenges posed by the heavy rain. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) A baby peers from a tent looking at the northern Greek border station of Idomeni, Monday, March 14, 2016. Bad weather returned after a brief pause and conditions in the refugee camp on the Greek-Macedonian border where about 14,000 people are stranded have further deteriorated, many of its residents struggling to cope with the many challenges posed by the heavy rain. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

By Associated Press March 14, 2016 1 min read

VIENNA (AP) – Austria’s chancellor says European countries have to send a message to refugees that they can’t expect to choose which nation will accept them.

Werner Faymann also is calling for progress in talks between the EU and countries like Pakistan and Morocco to facilitate the return of migrants with no chance for asylum.

Faymann says “we have to make clear to refugees that they cannot pick where they will be accommodated in Europe.”

In comments late Sunday to state broadcaster ORF, Faymann defended his country’s decision to introduce annual caps on the number of people Austria would accept as refugees, saying “we will continue to back this stance.”

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This story has corrected the second reference to the Austrian chancellor’s surname to Faymann, not Fayman.