Culture Society, Identity and Belonging
Austria’s new government has temporarily blocked family reunification for refugees.
An amendment passed by parliament yesterday and expected to come into force by the end of the month was explained by Chancellor Christian Stocker’s coalition as necessary to ease pressure on nurseries and schools, which it claims are struggling to accommodate foreign children.
7,762 people arrived in Austria last year on family reunification visas (down from about 10,000 the year before).
Austria will be the first EU country to formally suspend family reunification but the move may breach EU law and the European Convention on Human Rights.
The convention guarantees the right to respect for private and family life, while the European Court of Human Rights has previously ruled the right to family reunification cannot be collectively denied.
Germany’s coalition parties have also recently endorsed the suspension of family reunification for two years, while other EU governments are reintroducing internal border checks and facilitating deportations.
