Hungary Backs Austrian Position On Hotspots

  • 23 Jun 2016 9:00 AM
Hungary Backs Austrian Position On Hotspots
Hungary agrees with Austria’s position that hotspots for handling arriving migrants must be set up outside the European Union’s borders, the prime minister’s security advisor said. György Bakondi told public news channel M1 that the hotspots should screen the migrants and only allow people to approach the border who have passed security controls and of whom their identity is certain.

Further, the purpose of their migration must be established as well as their right to asylum, he said. He added that the government is doing all it can to try to persuade the European Union to change its attitude on the issue from one of accepting and distributing migrants to prioritising protection of the external borders.

Fifty-nine illegal migrants were forced to get off a train heading to Austria at the Hungarian border of Hegyeshalom on Wednesday morning, Győr-Moson-Sopron County police reported on the police.hu website.

The 26 Afghan, 26 Syrian, six Bangladeshi and one Pakistani citizen attempted to travel to Austria without valid travel documents and visas and they were apprehended for illegally crossing the border.

Republished with permission of Hungary Matters, MTI’s daily newsletter.

MTI photo: Kovács Tamás

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