NGOs Challenge Austria's Family Reunification Suspension; German Border Controls Ruled Unlawful; Poland's Asylum Access Questioned

A coalition of NGOs and legal academics has filed a complaint with the European Commission (EC) against Austria. They argue that Austria's July 2025 law, which allows a government minister to suspend family reunification for refugees for six-month periods, violates the EU Family Reunification Directive and Austria’s EU Treaty obligations. Complainants, including SIP, Asylkoordination Österreich, Diakonie in Österreich, and IRAP Europe, urge the EC to initiate infringement proceedings.

Separately, the Bavarian Higher Administrative Court (VGH) ruled on April 9 that repeated extensions of border controls at the Germany-Austria border were unlawful. The court found that the Federal Ministry of the Interior’s orders to extend controls from November 2021 to May 2022 and November 2022 to May 2023 were not justified under the Schengen Borders Code. This ruling followed a 2025 decision by the same court and was reinforced by an April 27 ruling from the Administrative Court of Koblenz regarding Germany-Luxembourg border checks.

Meanwhile, Michael O’Flaherty, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, wrote to Polish Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński on April 1. He expressed concern that Poland's legislation on temporary suspension of asylum access at the Poland-Belarus border is being applied to suspend asylum in all cases of irregular crossing, potentially affecting individuals returned from other EU states. O’Flaherty cited the removal of Afghan nationals without asylum application opportunities and reminded Poland of the European Convention on Human Rights requirement for individual risk assessments before removal.