Austria insisted on its plan to continue to deport illegal immigrants back to Afghanistan while the Taliban occupied Kabul, and on Monday (August 16) proposed to set up “deportation centers” in nearby countries as an alternative.
The conservatives of Prime Minister Sebastian Kurz have taken a hard line on the core immigration issue of their agenda. Since the immigration crisis of 2015-2016, they have won every parliamentary election. During the crisis, this small country accepted more than 1% of the population among asylum seekers.
Austria is one of six EU member states that warned the European Commission not to stop the deportation of rejected Afghan asylum seekers arriving in Europe, despite the progress made by the Taliban. Since then, three of the six countries—Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands—have changed course.
The Austrian Minister of the Interior Karl Nehammer said in a joint statement with the Minister of Foreign Affairs Alexander Schellenberg: “If deportation is no longer possible due to the restrictions imposed on us by the European Convention on Human Rights, alternatives must be considered. “
“Deportation centers in the surrounding areas of Afghanistan will be a possibility. This requires the strength and support of the European Commission. I will make recommendations at the meeting of the Ministers of the Interior,” Nehammer added, referring to the EU Interior Ministers Online on Wednesday. Meeting.
He and Schellenberg also suggested that the meeting be expanded to include the Minister of Foreign Affairs to coordinate policy towards Afghanistan. However, shortly afterwards, the head of foreign policy of the group convened a meeting of Afghan foreign ministers on Tuesday.
Kurz’s conservatives are in power with the left-wing Green Party, and many of them oppose the continued deportation of Afghans. At the same time, the far-right Liberal Party accused the conservatives of falsehood, saying that Austria had not expelled any Afghans in two months.
