Austria's Chancellor Karl Nehammer suggested after a working meeting with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in Vienna that the EU should potentially also outsource its migration processing to African countries. He went as far as saying that Austria "fully supports the British path."

The UK has been working on a plan to send migrants without legal immigration papers to Rwanda and have them apply for asylum there, which has recently become law after a series of legal hurdles.

Nehammer praised the UK plan, claiming that 15 states in the EU were now in favor of following this approach, which he referred to as a "pioneering" step. 

"The United Kingdom is thus paving the way for this path, which will also be important for the European Union," said Nehammer, highlighting that the idea of sending irregular migrants to Africa would help destroy the business model of people smugglers.

Nehammer also said that Austria and the UK, which left the European Union in 2020, will remain "strategic partners when it comes to being able to conduct asylum proceedings in safe third countries."

15 EU nations send letter to Brussels

Nehammer stressed, however, that in order to implement this type of outsourced asylum procedure, the EU would have to introduce a long list of changes first.

Austria along with 14 other EU members recently sent a letter to the European Commission asking for "new ideas" to handle undocumented migration, highlighting that third countries could play a role in this.

The document was co-signed by the governments of Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland and Romania.

However, the two major EU countries, who contribute the most to its finances — Germany and France — notably did not sign the letter; neither did Spain, another EU heavyweight, which is considered to be one of the frontline states in irregular migrant arrivals.

Also read: EU to sign off on landmark migration and asylum policy reforms

UK to continue on projected course

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak meanwhile expressed gratitude for the vote of confidence from the Austrian chancellor and the ensuing letter to the European Commission.

"It's increasingly clear that many other countries now agree that that is the approach that is required -- bold, novel, looking at safe country partnerships," Sunak said.

"We face criminal gangs that are growing in strength across the European continent and beyond," he said, referring to the business of irregular migration as a "vile trade."

The first flights to Rwanda with irregular migrants and asylum seekers are now expected to depart from the UK in the coming months, despite growing opposition within the country.

However, human rights activists and migrant advocate groups have vowed to continue fighting the policy, which they consider to be unethical and inhumane.

Also read: Rwanda refuses to guarantee how many asylum seekers it will take from UK

Immigration as key issue in election season

Chancellor Nehammer's conservative ÖVP party is known for taking a hard line on migration as one of its main election promises -- despite a relatively low number of irregular migrants and asylum seekers in Austria.

However, in the run-up to federal elections later this year, the party seems to be further gearing up its anti-migrant stance, as it faces a strong challenge from the far-right FPÖ party.

According to recent forecasts, the FPÖ even appears to be leading ahead of Nehammer's ÖVP.

Before Austria's elections, the European Union is gearing up to hold elections in just two weeks, in which far-right parties are projected to surge in support, putting further pressure on the block to react to the letter expressing support for a UK-like asylum outsourcing program.

This growing trend of EU member states calling for third-country solutions to their asylum procedures also comes after the bloc agreed to introduce major asylum reforms, which will, however, take at least two years to hash out and implement.

Also read: European Parliament election: Party stances on migration

Reaction to record number of irregular arrivals

Immigration has once again become a key issue in most political debates across Europe, as asylum applications in the EU have once again risen to over one million last year.

This marks a seven-year high, harking back to the rates recorded during the so-called "refugee crisis" of 2015/16.

Syrian and Afghan nationals make up the majority of applications filed, according to the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA).

Also read: UN sounds alarm over UK-Rwanda Asylum Law

With AP, dpa, AFP