Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer has endorsed the UK’s Rwanda scheme, agreeing that Europe should adopt similar arrangements with third countries to tackle illegal immigration.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak met with Mr. Nehammer at the Chancellery in Vienna, Austria, on Tuesday where the leaders issued a joint statement saying that it “must be the governments deciding who enters our countries, not criminal gangs” and that “stronger action” needs to be taken to stop the people smuggling trade.
Mr. Sunak and Mr. Nehammer “are acutely aware of dangers of the efforts other actors will take in instrumentalising migrants to destabilise Europe and agreed more needed to be done to secure our borders and strengthen our security,” the statement issued by Number 10 added.
The meeting comes after 15 EU nations, including Austria, called on the European Commission to tighten immigration policies and to consider third-country schemes.
Europe Considers Safe Country Partnerships
Speaking from Vienna, the prime minister said he and his Austrian counterpart have committed to strengthening their efforts to ending people smuggling and that in order to do so, “we have to pursue new ideas, solutions, and deterrents – removals to safe third countries—like the UK’s pioneering Rwanda scheme.”Mr. Sunak said “it’s increasingly clear that many other countries now agree that that is the approach that is required: bold, novel, looking at safe country partnerships.”
“[Mr. Nehammer] was right on that a while ago and I’m delighted that now 15 European countries together have joined in supporting that position,” he added.
The Austrian chancellor said having asylum proceedings in safe third countries could “save human lives” by eradicating smuggling routes, and it is “something we need to put on the EU’s agenda as well.”
The leaders also welcomed the new procedures relating to Rule 39—which can be used to temporarily halt the removal of asylum seekers—adopted by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
UK ‘Leading the Charge’ To Stop Illegal Immigration
On Monday, the government announced extra funding for the National Crime Agency (NCA) to deal with illegal channel crossings. The £25 million boost will help the NCA in their efforts to disrupt people smugglers and their operations.Announcing the NCA’s cash injection, Mr. Sunak said the UK was “leading the charge with partners across the continent to meet the challenges caused by intolerable levels of illegal migration.”
![Prime Minister Rishi Sunak meets with the chancellor of Austria, Karl Nehammer, at the Federal Chancellery in Ballhausplatz, Vienna, Austra, on May 21, 2024. (Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire)](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.theepochtimes.com%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F05%2F21%2Fid5654083-Sunak-and-Nehammer-600x400.png&w=1200&q=75)
Home Secretary James Cleverly said on Monday that the government was still determined to “stop the boats.”
Mr. Cleverly said during a visit to Essex Police headquarters, “We as a Government are determined to stop the boats, to break the people smuggling gangs.”
The home secretary continued that smugglers have been “adapting their behaviour in response to the pressure we have put on with regards to the supply of small boats, to the supply of engines and illicit finance.”
“We’ve recognised that there has been a concerted effort to prevent this policy being deployed through legal challenge,” the home secretary said on Friday.
“And we’ve made sure that the law, the Safety of Rwanda Act, is robust, that it addresses the legal concerns that were highlighted to us,” he added.
So far this year, nearly 10,000 illegal immigrants have entered the UK via the small boat route.