Karner Calls for Mass Rejections at EU Borders Without Individual Asylum Checks
Austria’s Interior Minister Gerhard Karner has sparked fresh controversy over European migration policy by calling for migrants to be turned away at EU borders without individual asylum assessments during a mass influx. In an interview with the German newspaper Die Welt, the conservative politician argued that European asylum rules must be tightened to give governments greater powers to reject large groups of migrants immediately during exceptional situations.
Karner believes individual asylum procedures should be suspended when criminal smuggling networks organise what he describes as an uncontrollable mass arrival of migrants. Referring to the migration crisis at the Austrian-Hungarian border four years ago, he argued that authorities should be allowed to respond without examining every asylum application separately.
His proposal goes further than current discussions within the European Commission, which is considering more flexible asylum rules when migration movements are deliberately organised or encouraged by foreign governments as a means of putting political pressure on Europe. Karner wants such measures to apply not only to state-sponsored migration but also to mass arrivals organised by human-smuggling networks.
The proposal has raised serious legal and human rights concerns. The European Convention on Human Rights prohibits sending people to countries where they could face torture or inhuman treatment. It also restricts collective expulsions, placing legal limits on the blanket rejection of migrants without individual consideration.
However, Karner remains determined to pursue his position. Responding to concerns about possible conflicts with European human rights standards, he called for legal interpretations to be adapted to today’s realities. He argued that many migrants come from countries that do not pose a direct threat to their lives, adding that the world has changed considerably over the past 50 years.
The Austrian minister is also pushing for the establishment of deportation centres outside the European Union. Austria is working with Germany, the Netherlands and other EU countries to reach agreements with non-EU states. Karner expects concrete results by the end of this year and hopes the first deportations to centres outside Europe will take place next year. The aim is to prevent rejected asylum seekers from remaining in Europe simply because their home countries refuse to take them back.
To support his tougher approach, Karner pointed to Austria’s latest migration figures. According to the minister, nearly 12,000 deportations were carried out between January and September, including almost ten convicted criminals per day. During the same period, only 2,800 people submitted first-time asylum applications, the lowest figure in more than a decade.
Karner describes this development as “minus migration”. His position, however, highlights a growing European dilemma: how to secure borders and control migration while respecting the fundamental human rights that remain central to Europe’s legal values.
