'Shared border also means shared responsibility,' Austria tells Merz

Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker has congratulated fellow conservative Friedrich Merz on being elected the 10th chancellor of modern Germany.

"Congratulations, dear Friedrich Merz on your election as chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany!" Stocker wrote on X in German.

"A shared border also means shared responsibility - I look forward to friendly cooperation between us and our governments," he added.

Merz has vowed to turn away more migrants at the country's borders, including on the shared southern border with Austria.

While some observers have said that these plans are in violation of EU rules, Austria has voiced support for the new German government's plans to tighten its asylum policy.

The coalition deal of the incoming German government states: "We will carry out rejections at the common borders, also in the case of asylum applications, in coordination with our European neighbours."