The refugee situation in Austria has calmed down recently. Refugee coordinator Michael Takacs sees a low point, as he said on Thursday. A double-digit number of refugees have also returned their displaced persons’ passports and returned to relatively safe areas in Ukraine. Several hundred thousand Poles have since left for their homeland. But Takacs only believes in “calm before the storm”.
The living situation is currently stable. 58,000 people from Ukraine have found shelter in Austria “and everyone has a roof over their head”. In 10,000 quarters, 47,000 living spaces were offered by private individuals. Only 17 percent of these have been occupied so far, which is also due to the fact that the federal government has expanded the number of major districts.
Nevertheless, Takacs continues to ask to register places if anyone can provide them. Because 150,000 to 200,000 refugees could arrive in Austria. Only when such a large number of quarters are available do I “give rest”. The refugee coordinator does not see his work as done yet. He expects to remain at work for a few more weeks. Whether he will apply for the position of director of the federal police is still open.
Currently focus on integration
He is currently involved in cooperation with the AMS, for example in the integration of Ukrainian refugees into the labor market. 34,000 blue cards have already been sent, giving the displaced persons access to the labor market. There are already about 500 in the work process. Takacs assumes that more Ukrainians will find work in the future. About 5,000 children have now gone to school.
Refugees 80 percent female
About 80 percent of the refugees who arrived in Austria are still women. Men over 18 are only allowed to leave Ukraine in exceptional cases, i.e. if they have to take care of relatives, have at least three children or are unfit. There are also students in Austria.
Refugees want to stay close to home
In general, there is often a desire among refugees to return home as soon as possible. This can also be seen in the airlift initiated by Austria for refugees who have arrived in Moldova. Vienna has offered Ukraine’s neighboring country to receive 2,000 refugees from there. This offer stands, Takacs said when asked. However, many people wanted to stay as close to Ukraine as possible and it was a challenge to even find people who wanted to go to the EU. To date, 500 refugees from Moldova have come to Austria. But as other countries are now also making airlifts to the country, Austria currently only has a slot for a switch every three weeks.
Takacs will visit the site soon. So far, about 560,000 people from Ukraine have entered the small town of Moldova. Only in Poland (2.7 million) and in Romania (almost 700,000) are there more neighboring countries.
In Austria, the number of daily registrations peaked at around 3,500, currently it is around 900.
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.
