Austrian Interior Minister Says Wants To Bring Number Of Asylum Seekers To 'Zero'

Fahad Shabbir (@FahadShabbir) Published May 16, 2019 | 08:21 PM

Austrian Interior Minister Herbert Kickl said on Thursday that he wanted to drive the number of asylum seekers registered in the country to zero

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th May, 2019) Austrian Interior Minister Herbert Kickl said on Thursday that he wanted to drive the number of asylum seekers registered in the country to zero.

Addressing the parliament, Kickl mentioned "the population's high expectations with regard to restrictive asylum policies," the ORF broadcaster reported.

"My goal is zero," he added, noting that Austria bordered "safe" countries.

According to the broadcaster, the Austrian lower house decided earlier on Thursday to recognize all issues and services related to granting asylum as a competence of state agencies. The ruling coalition of the center-right Austrian People's Party and the right-wing Freedom Party of Austria voted in favor of the relevant legislation, while opposition parties criticized it for allegedly excluding non-governmental organizations from the process and restricting refugee rights.