Austria is in the process of introducing a program to deport asylum seekers to a third country, modeled on, but not identical to, the program introduced in the UK. Britain’s plan to transfer £140 million a year to Rwanda to accommodate asylum seekers and process their cases will be suspended pending a Supreme Court ruling on its legality, expected in mid-December. Vienna is also committed to ensuring that a similar program is adopted by the European Union.
Yesterday, Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner signed an “Agreement on Migration and Security” with his British counterpart Suella Braverman, a pact to strengthen cooperation on the migrant issue.
Migrants, the British model
“The UK has a lot of experience in the future processing of asylum applications outside Europe. It was an important topic in my meeting with the Interior Minister in Vienna because Austria can benefit from this experience. We will continue to advocate for this consistently.” “The European Commission is called upon to carry out and approve such procedures outside Europe,” said Karner. Chancellor Karl Nehammer, who faces elections next year, raised the possibility last September of transferring the system for managing asylum applications to a third country to ensure that those rejected “can no longer hide in the European Union or apply for asylum.” “. in several European countries at the same time”.
“Austria is a close ally in the prosecution of illegal migration and we have already started sharing knowledge about our measures and strategies, such as deportations to third countries. This joint declaration is a commitment to work more closely together to achieve our goals and strengthen cooperation.” “It presents a variety of challenges for our security,” said Braverman again from Vienna.
Contrary to the provisions of the British program, according to which refugees must continue to remain in Rwanda, Austria would undertake to accept migrants deported to a third country, provided that their asylum application is approved in the meantime, a as soon as their application has been approved.
Asylum application, what happens if it is rejected
Those whose applications for programs in both countries were rejected would instead be forced to return to their country of origin. The only exception London makes to a one-way ticket to Rwanda for asylum seekers is if they can prove they are at “serious and irreversible danger”.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government is also pushing for Europe’s rejection of international agreements on asylum applications, including the Refugee Convention and the European Charter of Human Rights. And Austria could work in this direction within the EU.
In the event that the UK Supreme Court gives the green light to the Rwanda program and eliminates the risk that the deported asylum seekers from Rwanda could be deported again to their country of origin, the first flight with deported migrants is scheduled for February. Otherwise, Sunak could give in to pressure from several Conservative MPs to withdraw Britain from the European Charter of Human Rights.
Denmark is the only other country that has already considered introducing a program for the forced transfer of asylum seekers to Rwanda last year, including in this case with elections in mind. But after the vote last November, the program was no longer discussed.