Keystone-SDA
The Austrian government announced Thursday the expulsion in its country of origin of a Syrian criminal, a first in the European Union in recent years, according to the Ministry of the Interior.
(Keystone-ATS) This decision “is part of a strict and therefore fair asylum policy,” said Minister Gerhard Karner in a statement transmitted to AFP.
“It sends a strong signal, namely that Austria systematically expelled condemned criminals, now also towards Syria. We will continue on this path with determination and rigor, ”he added. The Alpine country, which had not proceeded with such expulsion for about 15 years, is pleased to “show the way in Europe”.
Mr. Karner went to Syria at the end of April with his German counterpart to discuss the return of refugees to their country and the means of strengthening security cooperation. After the fall of President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, the debate on the reception of Syrians resurfaced in Europe, several states announcing a freeze on the procedures of asylum requests in a context of strong electoral increase in far-right parties.
Austria, which has nearly 100,000 Syrians, many of whom had fled civil war, went further. It has started procedures to revoke the status of some 2,900 refugees and stopped the family reunification procedures, a measure that the new government led by a conservative chancellor wants to extend to all nationalities.
He is under pressure from the Nationalist Party FPö, certainly in opposition, but by far first part of the country in the polls and polls. The authorities even offered the sum of a thousand euros to the Syrians agreeing to go back to the country. For the time being, 350 have voluntarily returned since the end of 2024, against 200 in total in 2023 and 2024, according to official figures.
