CENTRAL EUROPE: Austria’s first deportation to Syria prompts Germany to follow ― Afghan family wins visa battle against German government ― Germany planning migration summit ― Polish farmers join ‘citizen patrols’ ― Czech MPs adopt draft asylum and mig…

• Austria has deported a Syrian national to Syria for the first time since the start of the civil war in 2011.
• Germany has announced that it will also begin deporting Syrians with criminal records.
• A court in Berlin has ruled that the German government must issue visas to an Afghan family stranded in Pakistan.
• German Federal Minister of the Interior Alexander Dobrindt will host a European migration summit on 18 July in the Bavarian Alps.
• Poland has reintroduced border controls with Germany and Lithuania.
• Farmers in Poland have paused their protests against EU agricultural policies to support ‘citizen patrols’ along the country’s border with Germany.
• The lower house of the Czech parliament has adopted a draft law that aims to tighten the country’s asylum and migrations rules.
• The European Commission will continue to keep €18 billion in EU funds earmarked for Hungary frozen due to ongoing concerns about the state of democracy and rule of law in the country.

Austria has deported a Syrian national to Syria for the first time since since the start of the civil war in 2011. According to Minister of the Interior Gerhard Karner, the 32-year-old man lost his refugee status in 2018 due to his criminal record. Commenting on the deportation, Karner told journalists that it sent “an extremely important signal that Austria is pursuing a tough, strict, forceful, but fair asylum policy”. In response, rights groups warned that the move could set a precedent for other European  countries amid rising anti-migrant sentiment.

Germany has announced that it will also begin deporting Syrians with criminal records. On 5 July, the Federal Ministry of the Interior directed the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) to take action against individuals considered a security risk, including “dangerous Syrian individuals and delinquents”. The new policy  has stemmed from the coalition government’s agreement which provided for deportations to Afghanistan and Syria “starting with delinquents and people considered a threat”.

A court in Berlin has ruled that the German government must issue visas to an Afghan family stranded in Pakistan. The decision, which was delivered on 8 July, follows an appeal by an Afghan woman and her thirteen relatives who had received approval for resettlement in 2023 and were left in limbo after the government suspended the United Nations refugee resettlement programme in April 2025. The court ruled that the government had made a legally binding and irrevocable commitment to the family and that “Germany cannot extricate itself from this voluntarily assumed obligation”. It also noted that the family members had passed all security checks, that their identities had been verified and that there were no grounds to deny them visas. The court also recognised as legitimate the family’s fear of deportation back to Afghanistan due to the risk they could face from the Taliban.

German Federal Minister of the Interior Alexander Dobrindt will host a European migration summit on 18 July in the Bavarian Alps. Dobrindt has invited his counterparts from Austria, Czechia, Denmark, France and Poland as well as European Commissioner for Internal Affairs Affairs Magnus Brunner to a meeting on Zugspitze, Germany’s highest mountain. According to a ministry spokesperson, the goal of the summit is to adopt a declaration containing concrete proposals such as measures for border protection and the deportation of unsuccessful asylum applicants to countries outside the EU. The measures would then be jointly promoted at the European level.

Poland has reintroduced border controls with Germany and Lithuania. On 5 July, Polish Minister of the Interior Tomasz Siemoniak announced that the new controls would initially last for 30 days. Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated that the measures were aimed at combating “illegal immigration” and that they were a response to what he described as “asymmetrical actions” by neighbouring countries. Tusk had previously told journalists that the decision was taken in response to Germany’s ongoing refusal to accept people on the move onto its territory. In an article about the new border controls, response, EUobserver journalist Nikolaj Nielsen noted that they marked the 472^nd set of “temporary” controls that had been imposed in the Schengen Area since 2006, and that they were  “posing questions about the survival of the border-free zone that spans 29 countries and some 400 million people”.

Farmers in Poland have paused their protests against EU agricultural policies to support ‘citizen patrols’ along the country’s border with Germany. As of 7 July, they have joined the so-called ‘Civic Border Defence Movement’ which includes nationalist groups, football ultras and local residents who claim to be preventing irregular border crossings. In response, Polish Minister of Defence Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz has urged anyone wanting to “defend Poland’s borders” to join official government services instead. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Donald Tusk has accused the ‘citizen patrols’ of “paralysing” the work of border guards by interfering at border crossings.

The lower house of the Czech parliament has adopted a draft law that aims to tighten the country’s asylum and migrations rules. On 27 June, the Chamber of Deputies approved the draft legislation which will, inter alia, allow for authorities to cancel or refuse to extend the residence permit of a foreign national who commits three serious misdemeanours within the space of a year. It will also grant police more powers to verify the identities of non-EU citizens, including by accessing mobile device data, and allow the state to deny temporary protection to Ukrainian refugees who have already registered in another EU member state. The draft law will now go to the upper house of parliament (Senate). If approved, it is expected to enter into force later in 2025.

The European Commission (EC) will continue to keep €18 billion in EU funds earmarked for Hungary frozen due to ongoing concerns about the state of democracy and rule of law in the country. According to the EC’s latest Rule of Law Report, Hungary has made “no progress” on seven out of eight key recommendations from the previous year. These include reforms related to lobbying rules, tackling high-level corruption and ensuring the editorial independence of public media. Presenting the report, European Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection Michael McGrath expressed concern about the “deteriorating environment” and “legal uncertainty” for civil society organisations in Hungary. McGrath also made particular references to the Hungarian government’s decision to ban the 2025 Budapest Pride march and to the draft law on NGOs.

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