The number of deportations of asylum seekers in Austria has surpassed the number of asylum applications registered by authorities in this country, in the first half of this year, according to the figures provided by the Interior Minister Gerhard Karner and BFA Vice Director Karoline Preißer published on July 31.
The same source showed that 22,990 asylum applications in Austria were registered in the first half of this year, thus accounting for a 30 per cent decrease compared to the figures of the same period last year, while in June, the numbers marked an even more profound decrease.
The Interior Minister mentioned three measures that the Ministry has taken in order to reduce the number of asylum applications:
- Border controls
- Rapid Asylum procedures
- Repatriations
The Minister emphasised that the country supports states such as Hungary, Serbia and Macedonia in protecting their borders by means of border point controls. He stressed that, at present, there are 130 police officers on duty to help fight cross-border crime.
Karner said that the second important measures are efficient and fast asylum procedures.
“People from countries like Morocco, Bangladesh or India, who have practically no chance of asylum, go through fast asylum procedures,” the statement reads.
In the first half of this year, the Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum (BFA) processed 4,360 quick and urgent procedures (28 days). The statement noted that a large number of asylum seekers thus leave the country before the procedure is finished.
The third measure, according to the Ministry, is repatriation. In the first half of this year, a total of 5,872 deliveries abroad have been carried out by the BFA, thus accounting for an increase of nearly 20 per cent.
“By consistently taking people out of the country, we are thwarting the business model of the smuggling mafia and securing the asylum system for those who actually need it. Without the enforcement of final asylum decisions, there can be no credible asylum system,” Interior Minister Karner noted.
The Ministry noted that Austrian authorities will continue to apply the brakes on asylum and also will continue to urge European authorities to implement the measures that have been decided.
Minister Karner said that only with consistent external border protection, asylum procedures at the external border and procedures in third countries would it be possible to apply the asylum break in Austria and other European countries.
In June this year, following the increased number of migrants who drowned in the sea last year, Karner urged for new and improved asylum regulations in the EU.
