A Taliban spokesman has told an Austrian newspaper that the Taliban would accept any Afghan migrants whose asylum requests in Europe were rejected. Those with a criminal record would then face court in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, Austria's interior minister is still in favor of deporting migrants with a criminal record.
Austria's head of state says the EU should offer shelter to more Afghan refugees. Chancellor Sebastian Kurz is against it. Political debates in Brussels and Berlin reflect the same friction.
The withdrawal of western troops from Afghanistan will lead to new "migration flows", Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has told German media. Deportations from Austria to Afghanistan will continue nonetheless, the head of government said.
In a conference in Brussels on Tuesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, along with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte called for a beefing up of the EU's borders to fight "the threat of terrorism."
Reactions to the terrorist attack in the Austrian capital Vienna on Monday have largely steered clear of the migration issue. But some, including Germany's far-right party, say several recent terrorist attacks in Europe show migration routes should be closed.
Austrian leader Sebastian Kurz has said that Europe took "completely the wrong turn" when it allowed in so many migrants five years ago. The chancellor said large numbers of migrants cause problems because they "change" the host societies.
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz argued that Operation Sophia promoted human trafficking. Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel said that EU vessels beholden to bloc laws would be better than independent NGO boats.
German NGO Mission Lifeline has referred to Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz as a ''baby Hitler'' on Twitter after the publication of an interview in which he criticized NGOs rescuing migrants.
Austria’s far-right government has pegged social benefits to German language skills and family size. While the government defended the reform, the cuts were met with criticism by opposition parties and UNHCR.
The far-right FPÖ party in Austria has come under fire for a poem by one of their local officials that compared migrants with rats. Kurz and opposition leaders strongly condemned the racist poem. The author of the poem has resigned.
Leading employers in Austria are turning to refugees as potential employees despite the government’s anti-immigration policies. Economic growth in the country is steady but there is a lack of labor.
The Austrian government wants to make it easier to deport migrants who have committed lesser crimes. The country also plans to push for similar changes across the European Union.