The Ministry of the Interior wants to launch an offensive to withdraw Syrians: all asylum seekers who have lived in Austria for less than five years can now lose their protection status. However, Austrian EU Commissioner Magnus Brunner, responsible for migration, is still very cautious about this.
About 100,000 refugees from Syria live in Austria. 40,000 of them less than five years. They will be the first to receive mail from Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) after Syria is liberated from dictator Bashar al-Assad.
The asylum status is wavering after the fall of Assad
Their asylum status is shaky. The Ministry of the Interior specifically wants to check whether these 40,000 Syrians still have protection status. For many Syrians, the Assad regime was the reason for their flight. For example, male Syrians often received protection because they were forcibly drafted into Assad’s army in their home country and forced to commit war crimes there. This reason for asylum no longer applies.
Priority list for deportation candidates
The Ministry of the Interior has also drawn up a priority list for deportation candidates. “It’s nice to wish ‘a good trip home’, as FPÖ club president Herbert Kickl does, but it doesn’t accomplish anything! An orderly return and deportation program must now be prepared. “Ordered in the sense that we focus the deportations on those who are criminals, do not want to adapt to our culture or are not willing to work and live only on social benefits,” Karner explained to the “Krone”.
Chancellor Karl Nehammer spoke on the phone with the new President of the EU Council António Costa on Tuesday afternoon.
Brunner reserved
Austrian EU Commissioner Magnus Brunner, responsible for migration, is very cautious. “The situation is still too confusing to say now how it will develop,” Brunner said at a meeting with Austrian journalists in Brussels.
“Acceptable”
The announced asylum stop is only a processing stop, and this is “acceptable and understandable because it is a new situation. That is legally okay.” The UN refugee agency UNHCR itself used the word “acceptable”. It is up to the nation states how they deal with asylum applications from Syrians.
The collapse of the regime brings opportunities, but of course also risks. “First we have to create clarity. There are a lot of things moving,” says Brunner.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
