What would having the far right in power mean for Austria and EU migration policies?
Austria’s far-right Freedom Party, or FPÖ, led by Herbert Kickl, is one of Europe’s biggest opponents of migration, including ending asylum rights and promoting “remigration” — a vague concept of shipping foreigners away to protect what sounds like its racial and religious purity.
Even without the FPÖ in power, the Alpine country already enforces strict immigration laws and has abstained or voted against some key files of the EU’s migration pact so far.
If the FPÖ forms a coalition with the centre-right ÖVP, how would Austria handle migration? What would this mean for Brussels, especially with Magnus Brunner, Austria’s migration Commissioner-designate, poised to shape European policies? Could the FPÖ’s influence reshape both Austria’s and the EU’s approach to migration?
Today Radio Schuman enlists the help of Dr. Judith Kohlenberger, migration expert at the University of Vienna, to try and answer these questions.
The European agenda today brings us a crucial appointment at the European Parliament, the official ceremony to mark the transition between Jens Stoltenberg and Mark Rutte as NATO secretary general, and Wikileaks founder Julian Assange’s first public speech at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg.
Finally, saving the best for last, we want to know which European countries are best for ageing well.
Radio Schuman is hosted and produced by Maïa de la Baume, with journalist and production assistant Eleonora Vasques, audio editing by Zacharia Vigneron and music by Alexandre Jas.
