BERLIN Bashar al-Assad after the fall and the rise to power of the Syrian rebels, several European countries have frozen the processing of asylum applications from Syrians.
Besides Finland, such countries include Germany, France, Italy, Austria, Greece, Denmark and Sweden. Spain, on the other hand, is a large recipient of migrants intends to continue asylum processes for Syrians to the usual model.
Many politicians in different countries have also raised the debate about the return of Syrians to their homelands. For example, it has been suggested from the ranks of the German conservative party CDU that the return of Syrians could be promoted with a free travel ticket and an incentive of one thousand euros.
Maher Al-Masihi, who came to Finland eight years ago, plans to return to Syria:
Right-wing radicals are pushing for returns
In Europe, the push for returns is above all the far-right parties.
– A person who celebrates “free Syria” in Germany clearly has no reason to be a refugee anymore. Such a person should immediately return to Syria, the AfD party’s chancellor candidate Alice Weidel said on social media.
Danish far-right leader Morten Messerschmidt said he hoped the “45,121 Syrians” living in the country would soon be able to return home.
– In addition to helping the reconstruction of the country, it improves Denmark’s rape statistics, he wrote on the X message service.
Leader of the French National Alliance Marine Le Pen encourages Syrian refugees to return to their country, “because a person cannot be a refugee all his life”.
– When there is no longer what forced them to leave, it is logical that they return to their country and participate in its reconstruction, Le Pen said on Tuesday.
There are about 45,000 Syrians in France.
Also in Sweden, the leader of the right-wing radical Sweden Democrats Jimmie Åkesson has urged refugees to return to Syria.
Austria begins deportation program
Austria has gone the furthest. In addition to freezing the asylum processes, the interior minister Gerhard Karner has announced that the country will begin a “return and deportation program” to Syria, including for those who have already been granted asylum.
– The security situation in Syria must be reassessed so that deportations are possible in the future, Prime Minister Karl Nehammer quoth according to Austrian media.
On Monday, Nehammer called the president of the European Council to António Costa to speed up Europe-wide deportations.
– The window for the future of Syrians in their homeland is open, and Europe must seize this opportunity, Nehammer said.
– It is time to act to rebuild Syria. Europe must promote the return of Syrians to their homeland, Nehammer continued.
Austria was one of the countries that received the most Syrians after the start of the Syrian war. About one hundred thousand Syrians live in the country.
UN: Return must be voluntary
According to the Geneva Convention, asylum can be denied when the conditions that led to the granting of protection have ceased to exist. It means, for example, a situation where the country of origin has calmed down.
Experts point out that the situation in Syria is still too uncertain for the conditions for dismantling the asylum to be met.
– It is extremely premature to draw conclusions. It is difficult for the Austrian government to implement its proposal immediately, an expert on migration policy Camille Le Coz evaluate of the French Senate in leaf.
Migration policy experts in Germany as well like discussion of returns prematurely, because Syria is not a stable country.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, on the other hand, says in the press releasethat refugees have a fundamental right to return to their country of origin at a time of their choosing and that the return must be “voluntary, dignified and safe”.
Germany still has the most applications
Syrians are the largest group of asylum seekers in Germany. According to the Ministry of the Interior, 974,000 Syrians lived in Germany at the end of October.
About 75,000 Syrians have applied for asylum this year. Applications are not being processed at this time.
Many Syrians will probably return to their homeland. At the end of last year at Radboud University in the Netherlands in a published study almost 40 percent of Syrians living in Germany were ready to return even in a situation where the security situation is similar to the one before the war.
Syrians in Germany are generally well educated. Almost half of those who came to the country had graduated from high school or university.
Many have found work and become part of German society. Of all foreign doctors in Germany, Syrians are the largest group in hospitals.
When these doctors return to their home countries, it worsens staff shortages, especially in small hospitals, Der Spiegel magazine tells.
Sweden is the second largest recipient
According to the Swedish Migration Agency, the situation in Syria is still fragile and recent events still require in-depth analysis. However, Sweden also suspended the deportations until the political situation in Syria has been clarified.
Sweden received the second highest number of Syrian refugees among EU countries after Germany. More than 200,000 people of Syrian background now live in the country.
In Brussels, the EU Commission said this week that it is monitoring the situation in Syria hour by hour. So far, no recommendations are being drawn up for the member states on the return of Syrian refugees.
– The current situation in the country gives many Syrians a lot of hope, but it is also full of uncertainty, the Commission spokesperson Anouar Al Anouni quoth.
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