Social affairs minister Aleksandar Vulin toured the Hungary-Serbia border and said: “The Hungarians never told us that they will close the border“.
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Speaking outside the European Union headquarters in Brussels earlier this month, Orban told reporters the Magyars were “full of fear” at the prospect of large numbers of Middle Eastern migrants entering Hungary. Crowds of refugees have gathered outside the fence, desperate to cross into the European Union. Around 80 percent of the scheduled trains towards Munich, the main route into Germany, were cancelled on Tuesday because of the border controls, according to OeBB staff in Salzburg.
Refugees are arriving at the Hungarian border on foot, and the most numerous among them are families with small children.
Hundreds of migrants are stranded at the Serbia-Hungary border after the Hungarian government closed the frontier with a new razor-wire fence.
Mounted police have been deployed along the border.
Police spokeswoman Viktoria Csiszer-Kovacs said the refugees were suspected of lifting the fence to get into Hungary, which is now a crime under the strict laws that came into effect from midnight.
Nearly 200,000 people travelling up from Greece through the western Balkans have entered the country this year, majority seeking to go to northern Europe.
Hungary said it registered 9,380 illegal crossings on Monday, almost doubling the previous record from Sunday and roughly three times the daily average of recent weeks, as people rushed to make it into the country before the fence closed and new laws kicked in.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has said that the fence being built along the Serbian border does “not respect Europe’s common values”.
More than 250,000 people have crossed from Turkey to Greece so far this year, with most undertaking a perilous boat trip to nearby Greek islands. However, Austrian chancellor Werner Faymann chided Hungary for its border policy on Tuesday, saying, “You can’t simply put your head in the sand”.
With Poland and the Netherlands also considering similar measures, there are fears the Schengen system could collapse entirely, even though its rules do allow states to impose temporary controls for security reasons.
“We’re definitely in touch with different countries on contingencies and UNHCR is ready to move and assist different countries as best we can,” Fleming said.
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Current agreements with EU states “do not provide a legal basis to reduce European structural and investment funds allocations if a member state refuses binding (refugee) relocation mechanisms”, Bertaud added.
