Germany suspended processing asylum claims for Syrian refugees on Monday following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, with the UK, Greece and Sweden quickly adopting similar measures amid the rapidly evolving situation in Damascus.
According to Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge; BAMF), the currently unclear situation in Syria does not allow for definite decisions on refugee status. In a press release, BAMF said it was monitoring the situation closely and prioritizing other cases which allow for a more concrete assessment.
While the migration agencies in the UK, Greece, Sweden and the Netherlands have mirrored this decision, the caretaker government in Austria went a step further. Austria’s interior minister, Gerhard Karner, announced a review of all the cases in which asylum has been granted, as well as a plan of “orderly repatriation and deportation to Syria.” Centrist parties of EU countries, such as the German CDU, have echoed similar stances. According to Karner, most Syrian refugees obtained their status on the grounds of being persecuted by the Assad regime, which now has ceased.
The German government criticized this upcoming debate. The interior minister Nancy Faeser stated that “It is too early to speculate about concrete possibilities of return in such a volatile situation.” Asylum rights group Pro Asyl condemned the discussions as “cynical,” calling for “solidarity” with Syrians and support for humanitarian efforts.
Meanwhile, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees highlighted that the humanitarian need in Syria remains immense, with over 90% of the population relying on humanitarian aid. He also said that if the developments on the ground evolve in a positive manner, “voluntary, safe and sustainable” returns will be possible.
EU law’s 2011 Qualification Directive specifies the criteria for a “cessation” of refugee status, namely when the “circumstances” that justified refugee status “disappear.” It is questionable whether this is met in a country under the emerging rule by Islamist rebel group Hayʼat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is designated as a terrorist organization by the EU and the United States.
Throughout the EU, the decisions of the various countries could affect the 100,000 Syrians whose asylum procedure is still pending, and probably thousands more who apply in the coming months, and put them into a limbo that supersedes the six-month deadline under the European asylum procedure directive. The vast majority of Syrians present in the EU (90 percent) who already have asylum status could lose that status in the future, according to an EU Commission spokesperson.
