Uproar over statements

Burgenland will not get an asylum center

Interior Minister Karner during his visit to Eisenstadt on Friday. Away from the celebrations, he clarified a few points regarding the government's plans.

(Bild: Christian Schulter)

Following criticism from the SPÖ on the subject of an asylum center, the Minister of the Interior was able to dispel all doubts. The establishment of a return procedure center is not planned.

To coincide with the official visit of Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) on the "Police Day" in Eisenstadt, SPÖ party chairman Roland Fürst sounded the alarm. The Social Democratic politician referred to the People's Party's election program for the ballot on 29 September, which, among other things, provides for the establishment of return procedure centers in Austria.

Fuss about asylum center
"This means an asylum center for Burgenland, because around 90 percent of people cross the Burgenland borders irregularly," explained Fürst. In the same breath, he noted: With Governor Hans Peter Doskozil, there would certainly be no asylum center in Burgenland. The simple message: "Everything must be done to ensure that the ÖVP is no longer the Minister of the Interior after the national elections. 24 years are enough," emphasized the SPÖ party leader.

Federal asylum center at the border closes
He also addressed the fact that up to 30,000 asylum applications are expected in 2024, putting Austria once again at the top of the list, and on the sidelines of the festive day at the provincial police headquarters, the Minister of the Interior immediately clarified a few points in response to a question from the "Krone" newspaper.

"Neither the establishment of a return procedure center nor the prediction of 30,000 asylum seekers is correct," replied Karner. Return procedure centers are indeed detention centers and part of the Austria Plan. However, such a center is not planned in Burgenland, according to the answer. In addition, only 20,000 asylum applications are expected this year. A clear indication that the number of apprehensions and asylum procedures are in sharp decline is the fact that the last corresponding federal care facility, the one in Klingenbach, will be closed from Monday. "There is no longer a need," was the reason given.

Question about deportations
Away from the ceremony, the office of the Minister of the Interior responded to the SPÖ's criticism that only nine Afghans and 15 Syrians had been deported in the first half of 2024. The concrete answer: "Of the 6553 deportations in this period, 73 of them were of Afghan nationals. 55 of them had to be forcibly removed from the country," the report states. In 215 cases, the deportations affected Syrian nationals, 170 of them forcibly, while the remainder were deported independently before the threat of deportation.