Austria offers Syrian refugees 1,000 euros to return home

VIENNA: Austria’s conservative-led government said on Friday it is offering Syrian refugees a “return bonus” of 1,000 euros ($1,050) to move back to their home country after the fall of Bashar al-Assad.

Conservative Chancellor Karl Nehammer reacted quickly to Assad’s overthrow on Sunday, saying the same day that the security situation in Syria should be reassessed so as to allow deportations of Syrian refugees.

Deporting people against their will is not possible until it becomes clearer what direction Syria is taking. For now, Austria’s government has said it will focus on voluntary deportations. It has also stopped processing Syrians’ asylum applications, as have more than a dozen European countries.