Austrian Interior Minister, Gerhard Karner, confirmed on Friday that the government’s current objective is to make illegal immigration to Austria less appealing. He clarified that four out of every five asylum applications were rejected last year.
The Interior Minister explained in his statements that the payment card system for asylum seekers, initiated by the ruling People’s Party, will be implemented by June. He pointed out that federal states and relief organizations will be involved in discussions about the “benefit card.”
Karner warned that a large number of individuals entering Austria illegally have virtually no chance of being granted asylum. He indicated that through the new cards, the People’s Party aims to encourage a shift from cash to in-kind benefits for asylum seekers.
In the federal care sector, Karner noted that the system of in-kind benefits instead of cash benefits would be implemented 100%, with the exception that asylum seekers would receive a monthly pocket money allowance of 40 euros as the only cash benefit.
The minister mentioned that the new system aims to prevent the misuse of cash assistance, explaining that if asylum seekers received cash, part of it would be diverted to smugglers or sent back to their home countries, according to the vision of the ruling People’s Party.
European attitudes towards asylum seekers have shown stability over time, with a notably more positive stance towards Ukrainian asylum seekers in 2022 compared to other groups. A study using a ‘feeling thermometer’ found that the average warmth rating for Ukrainian asylum seekers was 62.5, significantly higher than the ratings for other asylum seeker groups, which ranged between 42.7 and 46.9. This suggests a degree of empathy and support specifically for Ukrainians amid the recent crisis, while general attitudes towards asylum seekers from other regions remain consistent.
In terms of asylum applications and recognitions, nearly half of the applicants received protection in their first instance decisions in 2022, with a 49% recognition rate. This equated to 311,000 positive decisions out of 632,000 total decisions. Estonia, Bulgaria, and the Netherlands were among the countries with the highest recognition rates. Additionally, the EU granted temporary protection to around 3.8 million non-EU citizens fleeing Ukraine by the end of 2022, with the majority having Ukrainian citizenship. The main host countries were Germany, Poland, and Czechia.
The Common European Asylum System (CEAS) forms the foundation of the EU’s approach to asylum, emphasizing the right to asylum as a fundamental right and an international obligation. The CEAS aims to ensure fair and effective procedures across the EU, with a commitment to high standards of protection for refugees. The system includes various directives and regulations to ensure uniform asylum procedures, reception conditions, and qualifications for international protection. Recent years have seen efforts to reform the CEAS to address new challenges and ensure a more cohesive system amidst varying asylum flows across member states.
