VIENNA (Reuters) - The new Austrian government on Wednesday ordered an immediate halt to family reunifications for asylum claimants as it seeks to address widespread concerns about immigration that
Austria Suspends Family Reunifications for Asylum Seekers
VIENNA (Reuters) - The new Austrian government on Wednesday ordered an immediate halt to family reunifications for asylum claimants as it seeks to address widespread concerns about immigration that has stoked support for the far-right.
Invoking European Union emergency provisions relating to national security, the three-party coalition said it was temporarily freezing all follow-on rights for family members of people granted asylum in Austria.
"The capacity of Austria and its systems to take in (people) have limits," said the government headed by Chancellor Christian Stocker of the centre-right People's Party (OVP). "Due to the enormous influx of people, these systems are already at full capacity, or have already exceeded their capacity limits."
Stocker took office earlier this month after the longest-ever stretch of negotiations to form a government in Austria's postwar history. That followed a September parliamentary election victory by the far-right Freedom Party (FPO).
The FPO won with about 29% of the vote but failed to put together a ruling coalition, opening the door for the OVP to forge an alliance to govern with the centre-left Social Democrats (SPO) and liberal Neos.
In 2023 and 2024, 18,000 people came to Austria as part of family reunification, including 13,000 school-age children or minors, the government said.
"Given the number, it's obvious we should act responsibly and temporarily press the stop button," said Stocker.
(Reporting by Alexandra Schwarz-Goerlich; Writing by Dave Graham, editing by John Revill)
