Austria, Germany open borders to migrants offloaded by Hungary

Two children of a Syrian family sleep on a platform after they arrived on a train from Budapest's Keleti station at the railway station of the airport in Frankfurt, Germany, early morning Sept 6, 2015.[Photo/Agencies]

HUNGARY'S HAND FORCED

Hungary, the main entry point into Europe's borderless Schengen zone for migrants, has taken a hard line, vowing to seal its southern frontier with a new, high fence by Sept. 15.

Hungarian officials have portrayed the crisis as a defence of Europe's prosperity, identity and "Christian values" against an influx of mainly Muslim migrants.

In particular, Hungary has lashed out at Germany, which expects to receive 800,000 refugees and migrants this year, for declaring it would accept Syrians' requests regardless of where they entered the EU.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Hungary would deploy police and troops along its border with Serbia after Sept. 15 if parliament approved a government proposal.

"It's not 150,000 (migrants coming), that some (in the EU) want to divide according to quotas, it's not 500,000, a figure that I heard in Brussels; it's millions, then tens of millions, because the supply of immigrants is endless," he said.

For days this week, several thousand people camped outside Budapest's main railway station as trains to western Europe were cancelled, the government insisting that anyone entering Hungary must apply for asylum there as EU rules stipulated.