The Austrian Chancellor today hailed Rwanda-style deals as the way to fix the EU's broken immigration system.
Rishi Sunak was warmly welcomed this morning by colleague Karl Nehammer in Vienna, where the pair discussed how to tackle the model being pursued by Britain inflow.
Appearing alongside his fellow leader, Mr Sunak said they agreed that “bold, new” solutions were needed, such as the “groundbreaking” Rwanda plan.
They also bonded over their shared love of dogs, with Mr Nehammer joking that he was rehearsing for the conversations with his pet Fanny.
Mr Sunak is often seen running with his family's Labrador named Nova.
Last week, Austria was among 15 EU countries that warned they would have to 'think outside the box' to tackle the root causes of irregular arrivals.
Rishi Sunak was warmly welcomed by colleague Karl Nehammer (left) in Vienna this morning, where the pair discussed how Rwanda-style plans can help tackle problems
A military band played the national anthems of the two countries and Mr Sunak and his colleague bowed to the guard of honor before entering the Chancellery
Mr Nehammer said before today's meeting that asylum procedures in safe third countries outside Europe are a 'necessity'
Mr Sunak said today: 'It is increasingly clear that many other countries now agree that this is the approach that is needed: bold, innovative and looking to secure partnerships between countries.'
Britain will continue to “bring others on this journey,” he added.
Mr Nehammer said safe asylum procedures in safe third countries can “save people's lives” by eradicating smuggling routes, and that it is “something we should also put on the EU's agenda”.
Mr Sunak said illegal migration had truly become “one of the defining issues of our time” and that “we are facing criminal gangs growing in strength across the European continent and beyond”.
He said his Austrian counterpart “has been right on this issue for a long time” and has drawn attention to it in Europe.
Mr Nehammer said before today's meeting 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 in Vienna this morning to welcome Mr Sunak.
A military band played the national anthems of the two countries and Mr Sunak and his colleague bowed to the guard of honor before entering the Chancellery.
Mr Nehammer posted a photo on Instagram yesterday with his dog Fanny, sitting in front of the flags of the countries.
'For what occasion is Fanny rehearsing here?' the caption in translation, accompanied by a Union Jack emoji.
Mr Sunak was heard commenting on the photo as he and the Austrian leader entered the room, before the Prime Minister spoke about his own dog Nova.
The meeting of the two leaders comes as the government has announced it will give the National Crime Agency (NCA) a further £25 million to scale up efforts to disrupt people smugglers and their activities.
The money will be used to provide new equipment and specialist teams to improve the NCA's covert intelligence capabilities and intelligence sharing with partners. And it will improve information gathering in the 'Joint Fusion Cell', which brings together the NCA, the police and the police Home office operations to identify new leads.
Downing Street said a doubling of funding to the NCA last year has hit criminal gangs' profits and the cost of crossing the Channel has quadrupled from a 2023 low.
Ahead of the visit to Austria, Mr Sunak said: 'We are leading the charge together with partners across the continent to tackle the challenges caused by intolerable levels of illegal migration.
'Last week, fifteen EU countries called for new solutions to tackle this growing problem. Our disruption of the brutal trade of criminal gangs, along with our Rwanda This scheme is 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 joking that he was rehearsing for the conversations with his pet Fanny.
Last week, Austria was among 15 EU countries that warned they would have to 'think outside the box' to tackle the root causes of irregular arrivals