Austria and Hungary tighten border security cooperation in Vienna meeting

On 23 July 2026, Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner hosted Hungary’s new Interior Minister Gábor Pósfai in Vienna for their first bilateral working discussion in an EU member state. The talks focused on combating organised smuggling networks, protecting the EU’s external borders and advancing the establishment of Return Hubs for rejected asylum seekers in non‑EU countries.

Karner highlighted the success of the joint “Operation Fox” programme, under which Austrian police officers operate on Hungarian territory to disrupt smuggler routes before they reach the Austrian border. Since its launch in December 2022, 251 smugglers have been arrested, and illegal crossings at the Burgenland‑Hungary frontier have dropped dramatically—from 3,700 apprehensions in week 41 of 2022 to just five the following week. Both ministries also agreed to deepen cooperation with each other’s foreign‑registration authorities and to continue participation in the EU implementation group working on Return Centres abroad alongside Germany, Denmark, Greece and the Netherlands.