Of the three priorities of the Austrian Presidency of the Council of the EU – tackling illegal migration, securing prosperity and the EU prospects of the Western Balkans – presented by Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz in Strasbourg on Tuesday 3 July, it is the protection of the external borders of the European Union that divided opinion.
From the right of the political spectrum, there was a welcome for the reaffirmed emphasis on the need for the EU to protect its external borders so as...