Under current EU laws, migrants from outside the bloc are allowed to bring family members with them.
Austria is an EU member state (Image: Getty)
Austria has slammed the EU’s asylum rules as no longer being fit for purpose, as it pushes ahead with plans to limit the number of migrants staying in the country. Under current EU laws, migrants from outside the bloc are allowed to bring family members with them.
However, the Austrian government claims EU rules on family reunification have led to a youth crime wave and seen schools struggle to cope with an influx of non-German speaking children. Vienna has moved quickly to curb the EU-enshrined rights of refugees to bring family members with them in an attempt to appease public anger over immigration.
Christian Stocker is the new Chancellor of Austria (Image: Getty)
Christian Stocker, Austria’s new Chancellor told the Financial Times that Austria was one of a number of countries intent on reforming the EU’s immigration policy.
“We all agree that the laws that we have now no longer correspond to their original intention,” he said.
He added: “We need to go back to the roots of what this law means here so that it can apply to those who need it.”
The 65-year-old politician is head of Austria’s centre-right People’s party, the ÖVP, and leads a coalition government with the Social Democrats and liberal Neos.
The coalition was formed in February, five months after the far-right Freedom Party – the FPÖ – stormed to victory in national elections.
The FPÖ gained a historic 29% of the vote, having campaigned for mass “remigration” and an end to aid to Ukraine.
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However, the far-right party led by Herbert Kickl was unable to reach an agreement with other parties to form a government and remains out of power.
Immigration has increasingly dominated the Austrian political discourse, as hostility towards migrants grows across Europe.
At the beginning of 2023, there were approximately 1.73 million foreign nationals living in Austria, according to government figures.
This equated to a share of 19% of the total population – which was 9.132 million in 2023.
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Stocker was backed up by his foreign minister and leader of the Neos party Beate Meinl-Reisinger.
She said there was “clear need to find a new legal framework” in Europe for refugees.
“EU partners have to wake up and see what the situation is like . . . we have to find a solution,” she said.
