Europe (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The new EU Council president met Austria’s interior minister on New Year’s Day, marking an early diplomatic engagement at the start of the mandate.
Nicholas Ioannides, the lately appointed president of the EU Council of Interior Ministers, is in Vienna for his first day of work. Prior to the New Year’s Musicale on Thursday, Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner met with Finnish coworker Mari Rantanen and Cypriot Migration Minister Nicholas Ioannides in Vienna, according to the Interior Ministry. Karner spoke on the phone with Anas Khattab, the Syrian innards minister, just before the time began.
The conversation with Ioannides and Rantanen focused on the swift execution of the recently approved tightening of the asylum agreement at the EU level.
“Finland and Cyprus are strong partners in what is now a broad alliance for a European migration turnaround. Asylum procedures and return centers in countries outside Europe are important cornerstones,”
Karner said, according to the press release.
According to the Interior Ministry, the implementation of additional deportations to Syria was addressed during the phone conversation with Khattab. According to a news release assessing the situation, Austria has been able to deport convicted offenders from Syria directly to their home country since July 2025, making it the first European nation to do so.
As the first European interior minister following the overthrow of the Assad government, Karner had already visited Syria in April 2025 for a working meeting with Nancy Faeser, the German interior minister at the time.
It was also stated that a meeting of experts from both nations would be held in Syria to further improve the “process flow.” The prospect of working with Jordanian police authorities in Jordan to teach Syrian police officers is also being considered, as is the implementation of a partnership for the training of Syrian police leadership people by the Interior Ministry.
“The deportation of convicted Syrian criminals to their home country will be consistently continued. This is necessary for the safety of the population in Austria,”
said Karner.
What changes to the asylum pact were recently adopted at EU level?
The EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, espoused by the European Parliament and Council in May 2024, introduced comprehensive reforms set for full perpetration bymid-2026.
Obligatory enrollment , security, health, and biometric checks at external borders for all irregular advents, with data in an expanded Eurodac database. Obligatory border procedures for low- recognition- rate citizens, security pitfalls, or repeat heirs; up to 12 weeks for opinions and returns.
Replaces Dublin III with clearer criteria for responsible Member State, obligatory solidarity via relocations, fiscal benefactions, or capacity support. Exigency protocols for mass fluxes or instrumentalization, including temporary denigrations.
