Migration: National Council Established Family Reunification Pause

The FPÖ found the decision insufficient, as the Freedom Party wants to set the asylum quota to zero overall. The Greens, on the other hand, advocated for first establishing the planned integration barometer before taking further steps.

Specifically, it is planned that direct relatives will still be able to apply for entry at the respective representative authority for the purpose of submitting an application for family reunification. However, the further course of the procedure will generally be delayed. This means that the prescribed six-month processing period for the applications does not have to be adhered to. Exceptions exist if children in the country of origin do not have adequate caregivers. The same applies to children and adolescents who have traveled ahead, whose parent in the country of origin is the only possible caregiver. A government regulation is still needed for implementation.

Focus on Education Sector

The coalition parties mainly argued with the difficulties in Austria's schools. NEOS representative Sophie Wotschke stated that the schools are overwhelmed, and the teachers can no longer manage. Too often, classes cannot take place due to a lack of German language skills. If 80 percent in classes cannot speak German, it is not effective, emphasized Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP). It is necessary to integrate the children, the minister also noted, referring to increased youth crime.

SPÖ security spokesperson Maximilian Köllner stated that migration must be oriented towards the society's ability to integrate. Teachers have reached a breaking point. Students also need a good future. It is not acceptable for Austria to reach its limits year after year while other countries like Hungary shirk responsibility: "We will have to stand up to colleagues like Mr. Orban and not bow down."

FPÖ speaks of "Deception"

The FPÖ saw a "deception" before the Austrian population, as stated by MP Irene Eisenhut. The Freedom Party's security spokesperson Gernot Darmann recognized a deception. Circumventions are possible, and the "asylum mafia" is even given instructions on how reunification can still work. According to the FPÖ, the asylum quota would be set to zero, and Austria would withdraw from the EU migration pact.

The Greens rejected the proposal for entirely different reasons. MP Agnes Prammer was surprised that not only the ÖVP and SPÖ but also the NEOS wanted to forgo fundamental rights. The legislative proposal is legally "highly questionable." She recommended the government proceed based on facts and evidence. For this, the integration barometer is needed, with which, according to the coalition's vision, the extent of family reunification should be determined in the future.

NEOS pointed out amendment

State Secretary Jörg Leichtfried (SPÖ) reassured that asylum law in Austria continues to exist. VP representative Ernst Gödl advocated for being realistic and finding feasible solutions: "We are presenting one today." The NEOS, in turn, pointed out an amendment introduced today, which creates the possibility of receiving a decision on whether the delay applies in the respective case.

The session began with a "question hour" directed at Minister of the Chancellery Claudia Plakolm (ÖVP). There wasn't much new information. Plakolm emphasized that she wants to implement the headscarf ban for schoolgirls up to 14 years old "strongly and quickly." This measure is to be embedded in a comprehensive package that is also intended to serve the empowerment of girls. The minister also defended the mandatory integration program. Here, one can draw on best-practice examples from Lower and Upper Austria. The reduction of social benefits could be the lever to intensify efforts in language acquisition and job search.

Debate over the use of the term "Umvolkung"

The use of the term "Umvolkung" by the FPÖ once again sparked heated debates in the National Council on Friday. An interjection by FPÖ club chairman Herbert Kickl during a debate on the right-wing extremism report caused a stir, in which he defended the use of the expression, common in National Socialism, by a party colleague the previous day. This drew outraged criticism from the other factions.

NEOS club chairman Yannick Shetty and Green MP Lukas Hammer, who heard Kickl's interjection, called on the FPÖ leader to retract his statement. Kickl had argued that the term "Umvolkung" was used as a positive term in National Socialism, while his party colleague Peter Wurm had expressed it as criticism the previous day. Hammer spoke of an "incredible lapse." Justice Minister Anna Sporrer (SPÖ) also warned against a normalization of right-wing extremist language and discourses. The term "Umvolkung" clearly originates from Nazi diction, there is no doubt about that in linguistic research, said Sporrer.

The FPÖ leader did not comply with the requests and did not comment on it in the plenary. The Second President of the National Council, Peter Haubner (ÖVP), who chaired the session, announced after a session break including a standing presidential meeting that it had been agreed to discuss the incident again in the National Council's presidential meeting. He also asked the MPs to be very cautious with their choice of words, especially in the context of anniversaries, and to adjust their language accordingly.

Criticism of the right-wing extremism report

The statements on the actual topic of the debate, the right-wing extremism report of the Documentation Archive of the Austrian Resistance (DÖW), were also heated. FPÖ MP Harald Stefan criticized the report as "pseudo-scientific agitation by left-wing extremists who can let off steam at the taxpayers' expense." The report was commissioned jointly by the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Justice and was written by the DÖW according to scientific criteria, emphasized the Justice Minister. "The FPÖ under Herbert Kickl is the parliamentary arm of right-wing extremism in Austria," criticized Hammer.

Criticism of the report also came from the ÖVP. The fight against right-wing extremism is important and indispensable, but a traditional societal and family image is not sufficient to be labeled as right-wing extremist, said MP Wolfgang Gerstl, referring to the mention of ÖVP politicians in the report. He advocated for an improvement and further strengthening of the report's quality. It is about shifting the boundaries of what can be said further to the right.

Next National Council session with budget speech

The National Council session, which was poor in legislative resolutions, ended on Friday evening with debates on several reports from the Court of Audit and a "first reading" of an FPÖ legislative initiative on ÖH membership. According to the blue demand, those who do not pay the contribution to the student body should be excluded from membership, with little prospect of success. The next National Council session will take place on May 13. On this day, Finance Minister Markus Marterbauer (SPÖ) will deliver his budget speech.

(APA/Red)

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