Austrian chancellor hails Sunak for UK's 'pioneer' Rwanda deportation plan

The Austrian chancellor praised the United Kingdom on Tuesday as a “pioneer” in outsourcing migrants to places outside of Europe, citing its bill to send migrants to Rwanda as he hosted Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in Vienna.

Chancellor Karl Nehammer's conservative party has long taken a hard line on migration and faces a strong challenge from the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) in an election expected in the upcoming autumn.

Nehammer said Austria and the UK, which left the European Union in 2020, are “strategic partners when it comes to being able to conduct asylum proceedings in safe third countries."

“The United Kingdom is a pioneer for this path, which will also be important for the European Union,” he said at a joint news conference with Sunak.

“With the Rwanda model, it is a pioneer for us being able to put asylum proceedings in safe third countries on the European Union's agenda too.”

'Bold and novel' bill still under fire

Austria is one of 15 countries in the 27-nation union that called last week for more agreements with countries where migrants depart from or travel through to get to Europe.

That call came after EU member states endorsed sweeping reforms to the bloc’s asylum system.

In late April, the UK Parliament passed legislation to send some migrants to Rwanda, clearing the way for flights this summer under Sunak’s controversial plan aimed at deterring risky English Channel crossings by people desperate to reach the UK.

Human rights activists and groups representing have vowed to continue fighting the policy, which they say is unethical and inhumane.

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Sunak said that “we have to pursue new ideas, solutions, and deterrents — removals to safe third countries — like the UK’s pioneering Rwanda scheme.”

“It’s increasingly clear that many other countries now agree that that is the approach that is required: bold, novel, looking at safe country partnerships,” Sunak said.