Brussels – Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner has ignited a debate by advocating for the deportation of migrants from the European Union, including to Syria and Afghanistan.
Karner emphasized the need to revisit the possibility of deportation, citing the current restrictions under EU law. “At the moment, we have no option to deport to these countries because it is against EU law, and I believe it is necessary and right to have a discussion about how we can do this again in the medium term,” Karner stated during a briefing on Monday.
Highlighting the substantial proportion of asylum applications from Afghan and Syrian nationals in Austria, Karner proposed exploring potential safe areas within these countries for deportation. While suggesting areas around Damascus as potentially safe for Syria, he did not identify such regions for Afghanistan.
According to Austrian media outlets, his stance faced opposition from within the Austrian government. Leonor Gössler, Minister of the Environment and a member of the Green Party, contradicted Karner’s position, stating that it is not in line with European laws and could potentially violate human rights conventions.