Germany, Austria, Sweden and other countries will freeze the package amid the collapse of the Assad regime and changing attitudes toward immigration and border controls.
European countries are postponing Syrian asylum claims in the wake of new regime trade trends in the country.
Germany, the United Kingdom, Austria, Sweden and others have all announced they will suspend processing asylum packages from Syrians following the fall of the Assad regime.
Islamist rioting forces seized control of the capital Damascus over the weekend, and Bashar al-Assad fled to Moscow.
It ended Assad’s more than 50-year rule of the country and ended the 13-year Syrian civil war, which began during the Arab Spring in 2011.
refuge suspension
A group of Syrians celebrate with the country’s new flag as they celebrate the autumn of the Assad regime at Piccadilly Circus in London on December 9, 2024. Chris Summers/The Epoch Instances
Germany, which approved more than one million Syrian refugees in 2015 under Chancellor Angela Merkel, has halted all Syrian asylum programs until further notice.
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Syria remains the leading country of origin for asylum seekers in Germany this year, with 72,420 packages submitted by the end of November, according to BAMF data. Of those, 47,270 packages are indeterminate.
The United Kingdom’s Home Office also withheld decisions on Syrian asylum claims.
“The Home Office has temporarily paused decisions on Syrian asylum claims while we assess the current situation,” a spokesperson said in a comment. “We continually review all country’s guidance related to asylum claims to respond to emerging issues.”
Under the British Executive Plan, 20,319 Syrian refugees were resettled within the country between March 2014 and February 2021, according to the Refugee Council.
“To see so many people starting to return to Syria is a positive sign for their hopes for a better future now that Assad is gone,” Lammy told parliament.
“But a lot depends on what happens now. This flow into Syria could quickly become a return flow and potentially increase numbers using dangerous illegal migration routes to continental Europe and the United Kingdom.
The ministry also presented plans to implement “a program of systematic repatriations and deportations to Syria”.
Norway, Italy and the Netherlands also announced suspension of Syrian requests. France is expected to announce a similar decision shortly.
shifting perspective
European nations, once known for their altruistic immigration policies, have begun to tighten restrictions as the issue of accumulation migration has reached political and security boiling levels.
Germany, Sweden, Austria and France imposed strict border controls this year. Anti-immigration parties have gained electoral ground, even if mainstream coalitions have so far protected them from governing.
In Germany, the Extra for Germany (AfD) party, which is polling in second place nationally, is preparing for elections in February.
Sweden’s migration policy is undergoing a paradigm shift, radically tightening its immigration policies, as a large number of immigrants have entered it in twenty years, culminating in parallel societies and gang violence. Is.
Its manifesto calls for the deportation of immigrants entering Austria illegally and the imposition of strict standards for prison immigration. Birthday celebrations additionally promote “emigration”, encouraging immigrants to return to their country of origin.
Reuters and Chris Summers contributed to this record.
