European Nations Suspend Asylum Applications for Syrians Following Al-Assad Government's Fall
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Prague, Dec 11 (NationPress) A number of European nations have decided to suspend the asylum application processes for Syrian nationals in response to the recent political changes in Syria following the downfall of the Bashar al-Assad government.
The Dutch government has enacted a six-month moratorium on decisions concerning asylum applications from Syrians, as articulated by the country’s Asylum and Migration Minister Marjolein Faber in a correspondence to the House of Representatives on Monday, according to the Xinhua news agency.
Faber noted that the ambiguity surrounding the circumstances in Syria post-al-Assad regime made it challenging to accurately assess asylum applications.
In Belgium, the Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons has also temporarily halted the processing of asylum applications from Syrian citizens. Scheduled personal interviews will be canceled, and ongoing evaluations of applications are on pause. The office stated that this suspension aims to facilitate a more thorough assessment of the risks applicants might face if returned to Syria.
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer directed the Interior Ministry on Monday to suspend all ongoing asylum applications from Syrians and reassess previously granted asylum statuses. Family reunifications for Syrians in Austria have also been put on hold, as reported by ORF. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner announced intentions to devise a repatriation and deportation strategy for Syrian nationals.
In the Czech Republic, Interior Minister Vit Rakusan informed the Czech News Agency that the nation stopped processing asylum applications from Syrians as of Sunday, citing the changing circumstances.
"This is a standard procedure in scenarios where there are significant alterations in the situation within a country," Rakusan explained.
Malta has also paused the review and processing of both new and existing asylum applications from Syrian nationals, while countries like France and Greece are reportedly contemplating similar steps.
France's Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (Ofpra) stated on Monday that it is closely monitoring the developments in Syria. "In situations where the conditions in an asylum seeker's country of origin change, this may result in a temporary halt to decisions on asylum applications from Syrian nationals, based on the specific scenarios," Ofpra indicated.
In 2023, 4,465 asylum applications were filed with Ofpra by Syrian nationals, with about 2,500 more submitted in 2024 to date.
In Greece, sources from the Migration and Asylum Ministry disclosed that decisions regarding asylum applications from Syrian nationals are anticipated to be temporarily suspended. This decision, which could affect approximately 9,500 applicants, is scheduled to be finalized later this week.
A recent report by the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) indicated that asylum authorities in the 27 EU member states, along with Norway and Switzerland, processed 84,000 asylum applications in September 2024, of which 14,000 were from Syrians.
