Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) warns that people smugglers are trying to take advantage of the war in Ukraine and abuse the refugee flow for their own ends. He therefore argues for more speed in the asylum procedures and for an extension of border protection.
Karner: “You advertise that it has never been easier to get to Europe than since the beginning of the Ukraine crisis. That is why robust external border protection and internal border controls are needed.” According to the ministry, Austria is one of the European countries with the highest migration per capita, so it is particularly affected by the phenomenon.
To refute the smugglers’ stories about the unrestricted right of residence, Karner is demanding more accelerated asylum procedures – the so-called rapid procedures. “The asylum system must remain credible. Rapid procedures are an important guarantee for this and thwart the marketing of the smuggling mafia,” says Karner. The asylum system must be available to those who really need it. This is not the case for people from safe countries of origin.
Fast procedures for people from safe countries
The so-called rapid procedures have been created for this group of people: if an asylum seeker comes from a safe country of origin and there is no chance of residence, the asylum procedure can be completed within 72 hours in the fastest case, the maximum duration is 25 days according to the Ministry of the Interior. From January to May 2022, 4045 out of a total of 21,200 asylum decisions were taken under such rapid procedures. In 2020 there were 587 quick decisions, in 2021 3693.
“Practice shows that the right target groups are identified as part of the rapid process,” says the Ministry of the Interior. In particular, asylum applications from people from Morocco, Pakistan, India, Tunisia and Egypt were processed faster – these nationalities account for 84 percent of quick procedures. So far this year, 35.5 percent has come from Tunisians, 23.4 percent from Pakistani asylum seekers and 18.6 percent from Indians.
More immigration from Tunisia, Morocco, Pakistan and India
In general, rising migration rates from these countries can be observed: in 2022 1,520 Tunisians had applied for asylum, 1,849 percent more than in the previous year. Immigration is also increasing from Morocco (701, up 73.1 percent), Pakistan (760, up 544 percent) and India (826, up 679 percent). Only on Sunday were 23 Tunisian and 13 Pakistani citizens collected from the border with Burgenland.
Source: Krone
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