Overview

• Vienna’s appellate court overturned Sebastian Kurz’s suspended sentence for alleged false testimony, finding his answers at the 2020 Ibiza inquiry not materially false
• The same court upheld former cabinet chief Bernhard Bonelli’s six-month suspended sentence for making false statements in the ÖBAG oversight appointment case
• On May 28, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt will present legislation to suspend family reunification for refugees with subsidiary protection status for two years, with exceptions for hardship cases
• The proposed bill also reverses the expedited citizenship route introduced last year, ending naturalization eligibility after three years for highly integrated migrants
• Pro Asyl and integration experts warn that separating families and slowing naturalization will undermine integration efforts and contravene humanitarian commitments