After the fall of the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad this Sunday, several European countries welcoming many refugees from this country announced a freeze on asylum application procedures in this area.
A joint political reaction on the Old Continent. Following the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria, several European countries, including Germany in the lead, announced a freeze on asylum application procedures for refugees from this war-torn country.
In addition to our German neighbors, Austria, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, Norway, England, Switzerland and the Netherlands made a declaration to this effect on Monday, December 9.
In France, Ofpra, the agency responsible for examining asylum requests, indicated that it is following the situation in Syria “carefully”, adding that “this may lead to temporarily suspending decision-making on certain asylum requests from of Syrian nationals, depending on the reasons given.
Germany speaks of the “uncertainty” reigning in Damascus
Germany, an EU country which hosts the largest Syrian diaspora with nearly a million refugees, justified this decision by the “uncertainty” reigning in Damascus, according to its Interior Minister, Nancy Faeser. .
Many Syrians who had found refuge in Germany since the great migration crisis of 2015-2016 “now finally have the hope of returning to their Syrian homeland and rebuilding their country,” continued the latter. She qualified by mentioning the fact that “the concrete possibilities of return are not yet predictable at the moment” and that the situation remains “very confused” and “volatile” on site.
As Germany prepares for legislative elections on February 23, conservative MP (CDU) Jens Spahn proposed “chartering planes” and allocating a bonus of a thousand euros to “all those who want to return to Syria “.
-Second in voting intentions behind the CDU, the far-right AfD party spoke on the subject via its leader, Alice Weidel. “Anyone celebrating “Free Syria” in Germany apparently no longer has any reason to flee” and “should return to Syria immediately,” assured the latter.
Austria is banking on “an expulsion program to Syria”
Gerhard Karner, the Austrian Interior Minister, announced on Monday “a program of repatriation and expulsion to Syria”. He also indicated that “the political situation in Syria has fundamentally changed.”
Around 7,300 ongoing cases are affected by this decision, among the approximately 100,000 Syrians living in Austria, one of the countries which has welcomed the most in Europe. The cases of those who have already been granted asylum will also be reviewed. Family reunification has also been suspended.
“A totally wrong signal” sent by Berlin for Amsnesty International
Amnesty International criticized the “totally wrong signal” sent by Berlin with the freezing of the examination of asylum applications, which according to the NGO concerns “nearly 50,000 people”.
“The price” of a reassessment of the situation in Damascus “should not be paid by those who have been trying for years to build a new life,” added Amnesty International.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) also called for “patience and vigilance” on the question of the return of Syrians to their country.
