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Hungary Conducts Army Exercises at Serbian Border as Migrants Pour In Hungary Conducts Army Exercises at Serbian Border as Migrants Pour In
(about 1 hour later)
BUDAPEST — The Hungarian Army was conducting exercises near the border with Serbia on Thursday, a possible prelude to a more active role as thousands of migrants continued to pour into the country overnight.BUDAPEST — The Hungarian Army was conducting exercises near the border with Serbia on Thursday, a possible prelude to a more active role as thousands of migrants continued to pour into the country overnight.
The involvement of the army in policing the border, where a 110-mile fence with razor wire is being constructed to keep migrants out, is subject to the approval of a bill in Parliament this week.The involvement of the army in policing the border, where a 110-mile fence with razor wire is being constructed to keep migrants out, is subject to the approval of a bill in Parliament this week.
The number of migrants in the area has shown no sign of abating, and Hungarian military officials said the army would help secure the country’s borders. The number of migrants in the area has shown no sign of abating, and Hungarian military officials have said the army would help secure the country’s borders.
Hungary, along with much of the rest of Europe, has been struggling to effectively deal with the surge in migrants crossing its borders, and it has become an unwilling focal point in the humanitarian crisis. The military exercises came a day after Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, called for countries across the 28-nation bloc to set aside divisions to help refugees in a speech that softened attitudes in some quarters but fanned nationalist responses elsewhere.
More than 3,000 migrants crossed the Austrian border from Hungary overnight, and another 3,000 or so were expected to arrive on Thursday, the police and Red Cross officials at the border said. Hungary, along with much of the rest of Europe, has been struggling to deal with the surge in migrants crossing its borders, and it has become an unwilling focal point in the humanitarian crisis.
The Hungarian police detained 3,321 people for crossing the border illegally on Wednesday, the highest daily figure so far this year according to data published by the police. More than 3,000 migrants crossed the border into Austria from Hungary overnight, and another 3,000 or so were expected to arrive in the area on Thursday, the police and Red Cross officials at the border said.
As migrants started to arrive in large numbers Wednesday evening, arrangement were made to send most of them directly to Vienna by bus or train, said a Red Cross spokesman, Tobias Mindler. The Hungarian police detained 3,321 people for crossing the border illegally on Wednesday, the highest daily figure so far this year, according to data published by the police.
On Wednesday, Mr. Juncker proposed that the European Union accept and distribute 160,000 migrants across its member nations, and he implored Europeans not to forget their ancestors who had also fled hardship, poverty and famine.
Mr. Juncker’s plea appeared to have been embraced by Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz of Poland, who was quoted by Reuters as saying that she had heard and understood his message. Responding to comments by the opposition that Poland should not heed the European Union’s calls, she said, “Calls for Polish solidarity is no blackmail.”
“Acting jointly and efficiently in the E.U. is in our interest,” she said. “Let’s be decent. President Juncker has reminded us that once, we were also refugees.”
But in Germany, where Chancellor Angela Merkel has been pushing for mandatory quotas, even some supporters of the quotas acknowledged that they were unlikely to be accepted across the bloc.
Mr. Juncker’s “latest plan is definitely a move in the right direction,” the left-leaning Süddeutsche Zeitung said in an editorial on Thursday. “He will surely know, however, that the plan is very unlikely to be implemented. The resistance of individual countries may take it apart — and with it the entire European project.”
Such resistance was evident in the Netherlands, where the far-right politician Geert Wilders labeled the influx of migrants to Europe an “Islamic invasion” in a parliamentary debate on Thursday, Reuters reported, underlining that country’s struggle over how to respond to the crisis.
The Dutch government has indicated a willingness to accept more refugees if the quota system is embraced across the bloc. But, as in many European countries, there has been a fierce debate in the Netherlands about the challenges of immigration, and Mr. Wilders and his Party for Freedom have been citing the crisis to argue that the country risks being overcome by Muslim migrants who do not subscribe to the Netherlands’ vaunted liberal values.
“Masses of young men in their 20s with beards singing ‘Allahu akbar’ across Europe. It’s an invasion that threatens our prosperity, our security, our culture and identity,” he said, according to Reuters.
Advocates for refugees argued that the commission’s proposals, however well intentioned, were insufficient to address a growing challenge. The plan amounted to small steps to protect migrants, Iverna McGowan, the acting director of the European Institutions Office at Amnesty International, said on Wednesday, adding that more resources were needed to handle the influx in a humane way.
Ms. McGowan suggested that the commission was misguided in focusing its resources on returning migrants to so-called safe countries — nations like Albania, Serbia and Turkey that it says are free of persecution, torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, indiscriminate violence and armed conflict. Such a policy might result in people who would otherwise qualify for asylum being sent back to persecution, she said.
“Member states should be looking to increase safe routes into the E.U.,” she said, “not safe countries to send them back to.”
As migrants started to arrive in large numbers Wednesday evening in Hungary, arrangements were made to send most of them directly to Vienna by bus or train, said a Red Cross spokesman, Tobias Mindler.
Austria and Germany threw open their borders over the weekend, in what was described as a one-time gesture for migrants, but so far, there has been no attempt to halt the flow of arrivals. Almost all the migrants who have come from Hungary in recent days opt to continue on to Germany rather than apply for asylum in Austria.Austria and Germany threw open their borders over the weekend, in what was described as a one-time gesture for migrants, but so far, there has been no attempt to halt the flow of arrivals. Almost all the migrants who have come from Hungary in recent days opt to continue on to Germany rather than apply for asylum in Austria.
But a backlash is brewing among far-right anti-immigrant groups in Germany, and it remains unclear how far that country’s capacity can be stretched. Germany expects more than 800,000 migrants to arrive in the country this year, and more than half that number are already in the country, according to Sigmar Gabriel, the country’s vice chancellor. But a backlash is brewing among far-right anti-immigrant groups in Germany, and it remains unclear how far that country’s capacity can be stretched. Germany expects more than 800,000 asylum seekers to arrive in the country this year, and more than half that number are already in the country, according to Sigmar Gabriel, the country’s vice chancellor.
“Germany registered 450,000 refugees, including 105,000 in August and 73,000 in the first eight days of September,” Mr. Gabriel told Parliament in Berlin. “There may be more than 100,000 in September.”“Germany registered 450,000 refugees, including 105,000 in August and 73,000 in the first eight days of September,” Mr. Gabriel told Parliament in Berlin. “There may be more than 100,000 in September.”
Denmark, which had temporarily closed a highway running north from the German border to try to contain migrants seeking to travel on to Sweden, indicated on Thursday that it would not impede their progress. Denmark, which had temporarily closed a highway running north from the German border to try to contain migrants seeking to travel on to Sweden, indicated on Thursday that it would not impede their progress.
More than 200 people spent the night in Flensburg, Germany, the last station before the border with Denmark, officials there said. Humanitarian organizations brought food and water and organized buses to bring many of the migrants to a shelter where they could spend the night before continuing their journey on Thursday, the police said.More than 200 people spent the night in Flensburg, Germany, the last station before the border with Denmark, officials there said. Humanitarian organizations brought food and water and organized buses to bring many of the migrants to a shelter where they could spend the night before continuing their journey on Thursday, the police said.
Many of those seeking to reach Sweden were expected to catch buses to the port city of Kiel in northern Germany on Thursday, said Mandy Lorenzen a spokeswoman for the police in Flensburg. From there, they could take ferries to Sweden.Many of those seeking to reach Sweden were expected to catch buses to the port city of Kiel in northern Germany on Thursday, said Mandy Lorenzen a spokeswoman for the police in Flensburg. From there, they could take ferries to Sweden.
The about-face highlighted confusion over how to apply European Union rules, which require migrants to register or seek asylum in the country of their arrival. Denmark has recently lowered the amount of benefits it gives to migrants, and many of those traveling through the country do not want to remain there.The about-face highlighted confusion over how to apply European Union rules, which require migrants to register or seek asylum in the country of their arrival. Denmark has recently lowered the amount of benefits it gives to migrants, and many of those traveling through the country do not want to remain there.
The varied responses across the bloc come as the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, has been urging Europe not to turn its back on migrants. On Wednesday, Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the commission, proposed that the bloc accept and distribute 160,000 migrants across its member nations, and he implored Europeans not to forget their ancestors who fled hardship, poverty and famine.
Mr. Juncker’s plan to apply a quota system in Europe so that countries share the burden of absorbing migrants has met some fierce resistance, in particular in countries of Eastern and Central Europe such as the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia.
Mr. Juncker’s plea appeared to have some effect, and Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz of Poland was quoted by Reuters as saying that she had heard and understood his message.
Responding to comments by the opposition that Poland should not heed the European Union’s calls, she said, “Calls for Polish solidarity is no blackmail.”
“Acting jointly and efficiently in the E.U. is in our interest,” she said. “Let’s be decent. President Juncker has reminded us that once, we were also refugees.”
In Germany, where Chancellor Angela Merkel has been pushing for mandatory quotas, the commission’s plans were commended in some quarters, even as some acknowledged that they were unlikely to be accepted across the bloc.
“Mr. Juncker is proving that his election was not quite the bad choice many believed it to be. The commission under his stewardship is showing initiative in the refugee crisis, and his latest plan is definitely a move in the right direction,” the left-leaning Süddeutsche Zeitung said in an editorial on Thursday. “He will surely know, however, that the plan is very unlikely to be implemented. The resistance of individual countries may take it apart — and with it the entire European project.”
The commission’s proposals amounted to small steps to protect migrants, Iverna McGowan, the acting director of the European Institutions Office at Amnesty International, said on Wednesday. She added, however, that more resources were needed to handle the influx in a humane way.
Ms. McGowan suggested that the commission was misguided in focusing its resources on returning migrants to so-called safe countries — nations like Albania, Serbia and Turkey that it says are free of persecution, torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, indiscriminate violence, and armed conflict.
Such a policy might result in people who would otherwise qualify for asylum being sent back to persecution, she said.
“Member states should be looking to increase safe routes into the E.U.,” she said, “not safe countries to send them back to.”