Austria and eight other European Union (EU) countries, including Bulgaria, are calling on the EU to introduce new, more restrictive rules on refugee family reunification, APA reported.
In a joint letter to the European Commission, the nine countries highlight the strain on schools and call for the current directive to be reviewed. In addition to Austria and Bulgaria, the initiative is supported by Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, the Czech Republic, Greece, Finland and Luxembourg.
The nine ministers responsible sent a joint letter yesterday to European Commissioner for Migration Magnus Brunner, the contents of which APA has seen.
The letter stresses that many countries which have accepted large numbers of immigrants must now deal with the challenges associated with family reunification.
Schools in urban areas in particular have taken in large numbers of children, some of whom lacked the necessary prior preparation and education. The housing sector, kindergartens, healthcare and the labour market are also under serious pressure, the nine countries said.
To manage the situation, a number of countries have adopted national regulations restricting family reunification. The ministers who signed the letter are convinced that a European solution to the problem is necessary. They believe that a common and sustainable regulatory framework is needed to allow restrictions to be introduced from a legal standpoint. This is why they are calling for the relevant EU directive to be reviewed.
At its core, the current directive provides for the right to reunification with immediate family members, APA notes. This includes a spouse and minor children. The condition is that the persons concerned must not pose a threat to security or public order.
Austria recently suspended family reunification for a period of just over a year. Excessive pressure on the education and social systems was cited as the reason. The country has recently introduced a quota system. A total of 314 places have been allocated for the current year and the next.
From a legal standpoint, both the temporary suspension of family reunification, which could only be lifted in particularly well-founded cases, and the switch to a quota system are controversial. There is still no final court ruling on these issues.