Climate gluer is now threatened with expulsion from Austria

This was confirmed by the German on Wednesday. Windl is to be questioned on Thursday morning at the regional office of the Federal Office for Asylum and Immigration (BFA) in Leoben. “It’s absolute madness. None of the administrative penalties against me have been final so far,” said Windl.

Residence ban for climate gluer?

Windl is German, studies in Klagenfurt and is considered one of the faces of the “last generation”. The climate protection group around the student has attracted attention in recent weeks, among other things, with sticky sit-ins or spilled oil during protests. Now the authorities apparently want to issue a residence ban to Windl, as she also announced on Instagram. In a summons that the Austria Press Agency has received, Windl is asked to appear on Thursday for an interview at the Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum (BFA) in Leoben, Styria. The reason given by the BFA is an “interrogation regarding the examination of a measure to end the stay”.

Activist announces objection

Windl reports that, as usual, an identity check was carried out after an action in Klagenfurt. “My data was then also forwarded to the immigration police,” said Windl. She then received the summons from the authorities for the appointment in Styria. Should Windl actually be granted a residence ban, she has already announced an objection. “It’s not that easy to get me out of Austria,” says the student. She points out that she is resident in Austria and that none of the administrative penalties she received after the adhesive blockades are final.

State repression?

Her lawyer Marcus Hohenecker made a similar statement on Wednesday. “The procedure acts like state repression against an activist,” said Hohenecker. “She resides in Austria and does nothing other than exercise her democratic right to protest and freedom of assembly,” he said. “As an EU citizen, she will probably be able to gather and demonstrate where she lives.”

It is also “absurd in times of 1.3 degrees of global warming and disastrous warnings from science” to accuse climate activists of endangering public safety. “The activist wants to protect public safety through her actions,” explained Hohenecker.

When is an expulsion possible?

The ÖVP-led Ministry of the Interior pointed out on Wednesday that “for data protection reasons, no information on individual cases” could be given. However, the Ministry firmly maintained that an expulsion would be granted if the requirements for the right of residence for EU citizens were not met. “This can be the case, for example, if no health insurance has been taken out or no means of subsistence can be proven,” said a spokesman. The issuing of a residence ban against EU citizens is also permissible “if public order or security is endangered due to their personal conduct”. In any case, personal behavior must “represent an actual, present and significant danger that affects a fundamental interest of society,” the ministry said.

According to the Ministry, EU citizens who have been banned from staying in Austria may be deported if monitoring their departure is necessary to maintain public order or security, they do not fulfill their obligation to leave the country, or they return to Austria despite the ban on staying in Austria are. “If a residence ban is issued, the BFA’s decision is subject to review by the Federal Administrative Court when a complaint is lodged.” A complaint against a residence ban can be revoked for EU citizens “if their immediate departure or immediate enforceability is required in the interest of public order or security”.