Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer’s conservative formation has long adopted a hard line on migration and faces strong challenges from the right-wing Freedom Party in parliamentary elections scheduled for this fall and European elections in June.

Nehammer said that Austria and it great Britainwho left the European Union in 2020, is “strategic partner when it comes to the ability to execute asylum procedures in third countries Coverage”.

“England is pioneer on this path, which is also important for the European Union,” he said at a joint press conference with Sunak in the Vienna. “With Rwandan Model“This is a pioneering step for us to be able to include asylum procedures in safe third countries on the EU agenda.”

Austria was one of 15 of the bloc’s 27 member states that last week called for more agreements with countries where migrants leave or travel to reach Europe. The call comes after European Union countries backed reform of the bloc’s asylum system.

In late April, the British Parliament passed a law to deport some asylum seekers to Rwanda, paving the way for Sunak’s controversial plan, which the president himself described as a “deterrent” aimed at reduce the flow of people who crossed the English Channel irregularly, on a risky journey to reach England.

Criticism of international organizations and human rights

International organizations, human rights activists and migrant groups have vowed to continue fighting against this policy, which they say is inhumane and contrary to international law, and will have a “detrimental impact” on “refugee protection“Critics also question whether Rwanda is a safe country for expellees, as supporters of the initiative argue.

Sunak, for his part, reiterated that authorities must “look for new ideas, solutions and deterrent as a pioneering British plan for Rwanda.”