Austria

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will chair a National Security Governmental Council (KYSEA) meeting Friday to consider suspending asylum applications from Syrian refugees after the collapse of President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Some European Union countries have doubled down on their decision to rapidly halt asylum procedures for Syrian migrants in Europe, but said that it was too early to consider sending any of the hundreds of thousands of people who have fled since 2011 back home.

EU states on Thursday cleared Bulgaria and Romania to become full members of the borderless Schengen zone from the start of next year, officials said.

"It is a historic moment to finally welcome Bulgaria and Romania," said Hungarian Interior Minister Sandor Pinter, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency.

Interior Minister Atanas Ilkov expressed immense pride and emotion as Bulgaria was officially accepted as a full member of the Schengen Area, with land border controls set to be abolished starting January 1, 2025.

For the fifth year, albeit at a slower pace, Canada has seen a rise in euthanasia rates, according to the country’s fifth annual report published since the legalization of assisted suicide in 2016.

The Dutch Party for Freedom (PVV), led by Geert Wilders, has submitted a resolution in the Dutch parliament aimed at blocking Bulgaria and Romania's accession to the Schengen area by land. Sources familiar with the situation suggest that the resolution is unlikely to gain sufficient support.

Decisions on the examination of asylum applications of Syrian refugees fall within the competence of member states, Stefan de Kersmacher, the Commission spokesman responsible for migration issues, said today.

Austria is dropping its veto on Romania and Bulgaria becoming full members of Europe's Schengen free-travel area, its interior ministry said on Monday, paving the way for European Union interior ministers to approve the move at a meeting on Thursday.

Syrians living in France gather on Republique square after the Syrian government fell early today in a stunning end to the 50-year rule of the Assad family

Britain, Germany, France, Italy and several other European countries have said they would freeze all pending asylum requests from Syrians after the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad.

Several European countries have paused the processing of asylum applications from Syrian nationals following the dramatic fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime. Nations such as Austria, Germany, France, Greece, and the United Kingdom have either suspended asylum decisions or temporarily halted processing applications, citing the rapidly evolving political situation in Syria.