Gottfried Waldhäusl, the councilor of the FP Asylum of Lower Austria raises the alarm. Because on Sunday, the sound barrier of 100,000 asylum applications will be crossed in Austria for the first time. More than in the 2015 refugee crisis – and under different circumstances.
In six figures for the first time in the new millennium – on Sunday the number of refugees seeking asylum in Austria this year is expected to exceed 100,000. That is significantly more than the refugee wave in 2015 (see graph), when 89,000 people sought asylum in this country. In the past there were much fewer. The average over the years 2004 up to and including 2014 is 17,200.
120,000 by the end of the year
By 2022, only every 20th refugee will be a woman, according to the Waldhäusl Asylum Council Office. At the moment, more than 4,000 applications are submitted every week. The Ministry of the Interior expects about 120,000 applications by the end of the year.
100,000 men have come to stay
“This wave of immigration is very different from any other so far. It endangers our security, our social system and our peace. Because these 100,000 young men came to stay and seek a better life,” Waldhäusl sounds the alarm.
The liberal from Lower Austria paints a gloomy picture: “Meanwhile, not only are our absorption capacities and financial possibilities exhausted – the patience of the population, which is suffering from the inflation crisis, has also run out.”
Repeatedly asked to stop recording
Due to the government’s current policy, refugees have every reason to seek a better life in Austria, the provincial councilor railed. If he were interior minister, he would close the border immediately. “I would have anyone who tries to return to the safe third country. An immediate halt to shooting is needed,” he told ÖVP minister Gerhard Karner over and over again. If the government is not prepared to do so, it would still be its job to protect the Lower Austrians from immigration by not providing shelter and taking in refugees.
60,000 displaced people from Ukraine count
In addition to the 120,000 refugees by the end of the year, there will also be 60,000 displaced people from Ukraine – albeit mainly women and children. However, this means that there will be 180,000 foreigners in Austria on December 31.
Fact check on the new asylum crisis
Austria faces major hurdles – the legal scope is limited! In the “year of sad records”, the federal government also rejected and ended a maximum number of asylum procedures between Lake Constance and Lake Neusiedl. So far, more than 40,000 applications have been rejected in this country. In addition, 540 tugboats have been caught so far.
Indians in particular (top 1 nation since the summer via the Balkan route), Pakistanis, Moroccans and Tunisians now have virtually no chance of a right of residence. Serbia’s proposed visa adjustment, in particular, will stop Asian migrants at an early stage.
While there are already calls for an “admission freeze” or suspension of asylum procedures in many parts of the country, the situation is unlikely to be resolved that easily. The European Convention on Human Rights and the Geneva Refugee Convention often speak a clear language and prohibit inhuman acts.
However, common sense is also required: if migrants really do fall out of the supply system, an even more sensitive security issue is likely to arise soon – especially in urban areas. Emergency shelters at train stations and the like, as well as thefts of food and other everyday items, will then no longer remain an “abstract nightmare scenario”.
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.
