The states have not yet joined the new asylum strategy despite the government's agreement.
The Austrian federal government has reached a final agreement on the implementation of the new European asylum system, but the reforms are still stalled due to the Austrian states' refusal to approve the changes at the regional level.
Despite the completion of the internal government agreement earlier this week, practical implementation depends on the cooperation of the states, which has not yet been achieved. As a result, officials have begun to explore several alternative scenarios to advance the reform process.
During the conference of state refugee affairs officials held in December, the states presented a joint paper calling for amendments to the government proposal. One of its main objections was the refusal to grant the federal government the authority to establish federal care centers in exceptional cases without the states' approval, in addition to demanding written guarantees in which the government commits to participating in funding special cases within the care system.
For its part, the Ministry of the Interior clarified, based on statements by Interior Minister Gerhard Karner, that what is known as the right to direct intervention cannot be included in the agreement of Article 15A between the federal government and the states, but requires separate legislation with a two-thirds majority in parliament. The ministry confirmed that this right is not included in the government program and there is no intention to adopt it.
The fate of the final draft of Article 15A remains unclear, as the amended draft that is supposed to regulate cooperation between the federal government and all states has not yet been submitted. Although reaching a comprehensive agreement is practically the easiest option, officials have indicated that if consensus fails, each state may be forced to incorporate the European reception directive into its own basic care laws.
The new European rules include extensive amendments to the asylum law, described by Gerhard Karner as the largest legislative reform in this area in twenty years. Among these changes is the organization of family reunification for refugees through the residence system and its quotas, extending detention periods in asylum procedures at airports, standardizing the processing of these applications at Schwechat Airport, in addition to re-imposing mandatory residence in federal care centers for asylum seekers who have been issued a departure order.