Austria rejects German plans to reject asylum seekers at border

Austria will not accept asylum seekers turned back at the German border, the Interior Ministry in Vienna told dpa on Sunday after the parties seeking to form Germany's next coalition put forward a plan including that, reported dpa.

The plan agreed to on Saturday by negotiators for the centre-right CDU/CSU alliance and the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), which will likely form the next German government, calls for asylum seekers to be turned back at German land borders - but only if neighbouring European countries agree.

Austria takes the view that under current European Union law those making application for asylum cannot simply be turned back at the border.

"The Interior Ministry has therefore instructed the relevant state-level police departments not to accept prohibitions on entry on the part of the Germany authorities in contravention of EU law," the Interior Ministry said.

Austria's new coalition government made up of the conservative Austrian People's Party or ÖVP, the centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) and the liberal NEOS is itself planning restrictive measures concerning asylum and migration.

Family unifications are to be provisionally halted for those entitled to protection.

Germany's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party. the Christian Social Union (CSU) are planning similar measures concerning the relatives of refugees with limited protection status. The parties are hoping to strike a coalition deal by the end of April.

The Austrian government also reserves the right to make use of EU emergency measures if faced with an increase in applications for asylum and to refuse to accept all applications.