Another EU country joins forces with Germany in migrant crackdown after winning key demand
Germany repatriated 28 convicted criminals to Afghanistan on Friday.
Austria intends to start deporting Afghans with criminal records directly to their home country.
The decision comes after Germany repatriated 28 convicted criminals to Afghanistan on Friday.
This was the first time Berlin had done so since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.
Up until now, EU law had prohibited European countries from sending refugees back to Afghanistan over concerns for their safety.
However, Austria's Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum has said the security situation in Afghanistan has now changed, allowing deportations on a case-by-case basis.
In a July ruling, the Constitutional Court confirmed that this assessment was made by the immigration authorities.
The ministry and the Federal Office for Foreign Affairs are reported to be working intensively on implementing deportations, and talks are underway with several European countries.
Austria's Interior Minister Gerhard Karner called Germany's decision "very good" and said he had been calling for a resumption of direct deportations for a long time.
He said: "The fact that deportations to Afghanistan are possible again is a demand that I, that Austria, have been making for a long time.
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"I am therefore very pleased that this is happening. It is crucial that we deport people to Afghanistan and Syria again.
"And that is why this will also happen departing from Austria in the future."
He added: "The fact that a terrorist regime is in charge there, namely the Taliban, was the reason why it was suspended.
"That's why it's so important to work closely with partners in the region so that we can also bring people back to Kabul or Afghanistan directly."
Immigration has become a key political battleground, as Austrians prepare to vote in September in national elections.
Chancellor Karl Nehammer's centre-right party the ÖVP is coming under huge pressure from the far-right FPÖ and their uncompromising stance on immigration.
Current polls show the FPÖ ahead of their rivals with around 30 percent, and favourites to form the new government.
