Latest news with #OeVP
Arab News
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Austria deports Syrian convict in EU first since Assad fall
VIENNA: Austria on Thursday deported a Syrian criminal convict back to Syria, becoming the first EU country to do so officially 'in recent years,' the interior ministry said. Austria has been pushing to be able to deport Syrians back since the ouster of Syria's leader Bashar Assad in December. 'The deportation carried out today is part of a strict and thus fair asylum policy,' Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said in a statement sent to AFP. The ministry said it was the first deportation of a Syrian directly to Syria in about 15 years, and Austria was the 'first European country to officially deport a Syrian criminal directly to Syria in recent years.' Karner traveled to Syria with his German counterpart Nancy Faeser in April to discuss deportations, among other topics. Karner, from the governing conservative People's Party (OeVP), on Thursday vowed to 'continue this chosen path with hard work and determination.' Austria was among European Union nations that suspended all Syrian asylum applications after Assad's ouster. It also stopped family reunifications. Some 100,000 Syrians live in Austria, one of the biggest diaspora in Europe. Austria's anti-migration far right topped national elections in September though they were unable to find partners to govern, leaving the runner-up conservatives to form a new government.
Al Arabiya
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Austria deports Syrian convict in EU first since Assad's fall
Austria on Thursday deported a Syrian criminal convict back to Syria, becoming the first EU country to do so officially 'in recent years', the interior ministry said. Austria has been pushing to be able to deport Syrians back since the ouster of Syria's leader Bashar al-Assad in December. 'The deportation carried out today is part of a strict and thus fair asylum policy,' Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said in a statement sent to AFP. The ministry said it was the first deportation of a Syrian directly to Syria in about 15 years, and Austria was the 'first European country to officially deport a Syrian criminal directly to Syria in recent years.' Karner travelled to Syria with his German counterpart Nancy Faeser in April to discuss deportations, among other topics. Karner, from the governing conservative People's Party (OeVP), on Thursday vowed to 'continue this chosen path with hard work and determination.' Austria was among European Union nations that suspended all Syrian asylum applications after Assad's ouster. It also stopped family reunifications. Some 100,000 Syrians live in Austria, one of the biggest diaspora in Europe. Austria's anti-migration far right topped national elections in September though they were unable to find partners to govern, leaving the runner-up conservatives to form a new government.
Daily Tribune
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Daily Tribune
Austria to stop refugee family reunification in EU first: govt
Austria announced on Wednesday that it would pause family reunifications for those with asylum status from May, becoming the first in the European Union to do so. Several EU countries are mulling stopping or tightening the right for people, who cannot safely return to their home countries, to bring their families, but so far no bloc member has a complete halt in place. Austria has already halted family reunification for Syrians since the ouster of Syria's leader Bashar al-Assad last December, arguing it has to reassess the situation and threatening their deportation. Syrians make up the bulk of family reunifications, but a newly formed conservative-led government -- under pressure with anti-immigration sentiment high -- has insisted that it needs to stop all. Integration Minister Claudia Plakolm said the government would make a legal change to allow the interior ministry to issue a decree to halt family reunification. "By May, so in just a few weeks, the stop is expected to become reality," Plakolm of the conservative People's Party (OeVP) told reporters. "On one hand, our systems have reached their limits and, on the other hand, the probability of successful integration decreases massively with each new arrival," she added. The pause is for six months but can be extended until May 2027, she said, adding it was a "mammoth task" to integrate those who have arrived, many of whom struggle to learn German and find jobs. In 2023, almost 9,300 people arrived due to family reunification; last year it was almost 7,800 people, according to government figures. Most of them were school-aged minors, placing a burden on schools, the government said. Rights organisations have criticised the government's plans in the country of nine million, with one of the main asylum support groups saying they would challenge the decree once issued in court. "There must be an emergency (to allow the government to pause family reunification), which in Austria is not the case," Asylkoordination Oesterreich spokesman Lukas Gahleitner told AFP. The anti-immigration far-right Freedom Party (FPOe) topped parliamentary elections for the first time ever last November, gaining almost a third of the votes. It failed to form government, with the election runner-up long-ruling OeVP cobbling together a coalition with the Social Democrats (SPOe) and the liberal NEOs.
Arab News
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Austria to stop refugee family reunification in EU first: govt
VIENNA: Austria announced on Wednesday that it would pause family reunifications for those with asylum status from May, becoming the first in the European Union to do so. Several EU countries are mulling stopping or tightening the right for people, who cannot safely return to their home countries, to bring their families, but so far no bloc member has a complete halt in place. Austria has already halted family reunification for Syrians since the ouster of Syria's leader Bashar Assad last December, arguing it has to reassess the situation and threatening their deportation. Syrians make up the bulk of family reunifications, but a newly formed conservative-led government — under pressure with anti-immigration sentiment high — has insisted that it needs to stop all. Integration Minister Claudia Plakolm said the government would make a legal change to allow the interior ministry to issue a decree to halt family reunification. 'By May, so in just a few weeks, the stop is expected to become reality,' Plakolm of the conservative People's Party (OeVP) told reporters. 'On one hand, our systems have reached their limits and, on the other hand, the probability of successful integration decreases massively with each new arrival,' she added. The pause is for six months but can be extended until May 2027, she said, adding it was a 'mammoth task' to integrate those who have arrived, many of whom struggle to learn German and find jobs. In 2023, almost 9,300 people arrived due to family reunification; last year it was almost 7,800 people, according to government figures. Most of them were school-aged minors, placing a burden on schools, the government said. Rights organizations have criticized the government's plans in the country of nine million, with one of the main asylum support groups saying they would challenge the decree once issued in court. 'There must be an emergency (to allow the government to pause family reunification), which in Austria is not the case,' Asylkoordination Oesterreich spokesman Lukas Gahleitner told AFP. The anti-immigration far-right Freedom Party (FPOe) topped parliamentary elections for the first time ever last November, gaining almost a third of the votes. It failed to form government, with the election runner-up long-ruling OeVP cobbling together a coalition with the Social Democrats (SPOe) and the liberal NEOs.
Express Tribune
13-02-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Talks to form Austria's first far right-led govt fail
VIENNA: Austria's Freedom Party ended coalition talks with the conservatives on Wednesday to form the country's first far right-led government following disagreements over key posts and issues including migration. The FPOe — which topped national polls for the first time ever in September — has been negotiating with the long-ruling conservative People's Party (OeVP) since early January. But cracks have appeared since last week, with radical FPOe leader Herbert Kickl insisting his party wants to hold both the interior and finance ministries -- demands the OeVP has rejected. "Despite intensive efforts, it had not been possible to reach an agreement," Kickl told reporters on Wednesday evening, adding that he was in favour of early snap elections. The OeVP in turn blamed "Kickl's thirst for power and uncompromising attitude" for the talks' failure. Had they been successful, the far right would have led the Alpine EU nation's government for the first time, though it has previously tasted power as a junior coalition partner. Now that talks have collapsed, analysts say snap elections are one of several likely scenarios, with the FPOe polling well ahead of its rivals. Austria's President Alexander Van der Bellen said that he would be holding talks with the parties in the coming days to "sound out" how to move forward. Conservative-led efforts to rule without the FPOe following the September vote failed in early January and efforts to form a government hit a record length of time last week. The previous record, set in the 1960s, was 129 days. Earlier on Wednesday the OeVP said it wanted to have the interior brief, with asylum and migration issues moved into a separate new ministry. But the FPOe rejected the OeVP's proposal as "fraught with numerous constitutional problems" and "doomed to failure". Leaks over the weekend also showed numerous outstanding issues, including on EU policy and asylum seekers. The OeVP wanted the FPOe -- which has slammed EU sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine -- to clarify its position on Moscow, insisting a future government must see Russia "as threat", according to a confidential document revealed by the media. Kickl is known for his harsh attacks on his opponents, including calling President Van der Bellen a "senile mummy". The FPOe leader has also caused controversy by calling himself the future "Volkskanzler" -- the people's chancellor -- as Hitler was termed in the 1930s though he has denied this is a Nazi reference. In its demands aired publicly on social media, the FPOe -- led by Kickl since 2021 -- went "all out, showing little willingness to compromise", said political analyst Thomas Hofer. AFP
