Rishi Sunak insisted the UK is ‘leading the charge’ on tackling illegal immigration today as he visited Austria.
The PM was given a warm welcome by counterpart Karl Nehammer in Vienna this morning, with the pair discussing how Rwanda-style plans can help deal with inflows.
They also bonded over their shared love of dogs, with Mr Nehammer having joked that he was rehearsing for the talks with his pet Fanny.
Mr Sunak is often seen out running with his family’s Labrador, called Nova.
Last week Austria was among 15 EU countries warning that they would have to ‘think outside the box’ to tackle the root causes of irregular arrivals.
Rishi Sunak was given a warm welcome by counterpart Karl Nehammer (left) in Vienna this morning, with the pair discussing how Rwanda-style plans can help deal with issues
A military band played the two countries’ national anthems and Mr Sunak and his counterpart bowed to the honour guard before entering the Chancellery
Mr Nehammer said before the meeting today that asylum procedures in safe third countries outside Europe are a ‘necessity’
Mr Nehammer said before the meeting today that asylum procedures in safe third countries outside Europe are a ‘necessity’.
‘One thing is clear to me: Europe needs a completely new asylum system,’ he posted on social media.
A red carpet was rolled out to welcome Mr Sunak in Vienna this morning.
A military band played the two countries’ national anthems and Mr Sunak and his counterpart bowed to the honour guard before entering the Chancellery.
Mr Nehammer posted a photograph on Instagram yesterday featuring his dog Fanny, sat in front of the countries’ flags.
‘For what occasion is Fanny rehearsing here?’ the caption read in translation, accompanied by a Union Jack emoji.
Mr Sunak could be heard to remark about the photograph as he and the Austrian leader entered the room, before the PM spoke about his own dog Nova.
The two leaders’ meeting comes as the Government announced it will give the National Crime Agency (NCA) an additional £25million to scale up efforts to disrupt people smugglers and their operations.
The money will be used to provide new equipment and specialist teams to enhance the NCA’s covert intelligence capabilities and intelligence sharing with partners. And it will enhance information gathering at the ‘Joint Fusion Cell’ which brings together the NCA, police and Home Office operations to identify new leads.
Downing Street said a doubling of funding to the NCA last year hit criminal gangs’ profits and the cost of crossing the Channel has risen four-fold from a low in 2023.
Ahead of the visit to Austria, Mr Sunak said: ‘We are leading the charge with partners across the continent to meet the challenges caused by intolerable levels of illegal migration.
‘Just last week fifteen EU countries called for new solutions to address this growing issue. Our disruption of the cruel trade of criminal gangs, together with our Rwanda scheme, are part of a deterrent to stop illegal migration once and for all.’
The leaders also bonded over their shared love of dogs, with Mr Nehammer having joked that he was rehearsing for the talks with his pet Fanny
Last week Austria was among 15 EU countries warning that they would have to ‘think outside the box’ to tackle the root causes of irregular arrivals
