Meeting on the sidelines of the annual summit of German-speaking interior ministers in Luxembourg (27–28 April), Austria’s Gerhard Karner and Germany’s Alexander Dobrindt pledged to “expand and accelerate” joint charter flights removing migrants whose asylum claims have been rejected. According to an Austrian interior-ministry briefing released early on 28 April, the two countries dubbed themselves the “implementation group” for hard-line return policies within the EU’s forthcoming Common European Asylum System (CEAS). Key elements include exploring offshore “return centres” for persons who cannot be repatriated directly to their countries of origin—an idea that would require new bilateral agreements with safe-third states. Officials also discussed synchronising risk-assessment frameworks so that deportations to Afghanistan and Syria—already undertaken separately by Vienna and Berlin—could eventually be coordinated flights, reducing per-person costs by up to 30 %. While civil-society organisations condemned the agenda as incompatible with non-refoulement obligations, business associations are watching for secondary effects on labour availability. Statistics from Austria’s Public Employment Service show that 14 % of recent deportees held short-term work permits in hospitality and agriculture; employers fear sudden removals could exacerbate seasonal staff shortages unless offset by expanded recruitment channels such as the Red-White-Red Card. Karner insisted that removals target primarily criminals and failed applicants, stressing that the policy “frees capacity” for high-skilled migration. The ministers plan to present a joint position paper at the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council on 10 May, where CEAS implementation timetables will be finalised. Companies with cross-border staffing models should track the debate, as stricter return regimes often coincide with tighter document-verification checks at hiring stage.
