VIENNA, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern has called on his country to adopt a more entrepreneurial stance and called for the implementation of new measures to tackle unemployment, during a keynote speech in the city of Wels on Wednesday.
He announced the goal of creating 200,000 new jobs by 2020 as part of the way forward. Austria is a "strong country," he noted, saying it is capable of much more.
Kern also presented a 150-page work program, titled "Plan A." Within the program there are some controversial plans, such as restricting immigration into Austria from poorer European Union members, despite this being against the rules currently in place.
He said it makes no sense to "cling to dogmas" that do not bring citizens of the EU a clear advantage in their daily lives.
The chancellor argued that countries like Austria see a massive influx of foreign nationals, while countries of origin of many migrants see a "brain drain" from their workforce.
Such foreign nationals should only be given access to the labor market in Austria where there is an obvious deficit in the domestic workforce, he added.
The chancellor also called for deregulation of the state, which he said is required in order to reduce the debt burden.
