Saturday, September 12, 2015

Europe Europe migrant crisis: Hungary PM calls for €3bn Syria aid package



Syrian refugees walk towards Greece"s border with Macedonia, near the Greek village of Idomeni - 11 September 2015Image copyrightReuters
Image captionHungary's prime minister says tens of millions of people could descend on Europe

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has called on the European Union to give Syria's neighbours €3bn (£2.2bn; $3.4bn) in financial aid to help those displaced by the civil war.
Mr Orban said supporting Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan with such a package would end the mass migration to Europe.
Hungary has struggled to cope with some 150,000 migrants that have crossed its borders so far this year.
From next week, people who enter the country illegally will be arrested.
Meanwhile, protests in support of migrants are expected across Europe later on Saturday.
Ten of thousands of people are expected to participate in a "day of action" with dozens of events taking place in several countries.
A handful of rival anti-migrant protests are also due to take place.
Meanwhile, Germany has announced that 4,000 troops have been put on standby to cope with the huge influx of migrants.
Officials say 40,000 people are expected to arrive in southern Germany this weekend alone - twice as many as last weekend.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban answers a question during a press conference following the Visegrad Group summit on migration in Prague - 4 September 2015Image copyrightAP
Image captionMr Orban says people who cross into Hungary illegally will be arrested from next week
People rest at a temporary holding camp for migrants and refugees close to Hungary's border with Serbia in Roszke, Hungary (08 September 2015)Image copyrightAP
Image captionHungary has been criticised for its response to the migrant crisis

In an interview with Germany's Bild newspaper (in German), Mr Orban said the €3bn fund could be raised by every EU country paying an extra 1% into the budget - or by a general reduction of EU spending by 1%.
"We have a plan, which I will submit to the EU at our next meeting," he said. "It means that we support the neighbouring countries of Syria with massive financial aid."
He said migrants from Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey should "return to where they came from", before adding: "These people do not flee from danger."
"They did not come to Europe because they are looking for security, but they want a better life... The living conditions in Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Hungary and Austria do not appeal to them."

Media captionMigrants are seen trying to catch food packs tossed into the crowd by police
On Friday, Mr Orban warned that tougher immigration laws will take effect in Hungary from 15 September.
He said that migrants entering Hungary in their thousands in the past weeks had "rebelled" against his police force, and order had to be restored.
There have been tensions between authorities and migrants across Hungary, as thousands try to pass through en route from Greece to countries in northern and western Europe.


In the past few days, aid workers have spoken of "abysmal" conditions for refugees at a camp in Roszke on the Hungarian-Serbian border.
Hungary has insisted it is trying to fulfil its obligations as an EU member and register all new arrivals.
But its attempts to control the flow of migrants - such as building a fence along its border with Serbia and staging border protection exercises - have proved controversial.

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A note on terminology: The BBC uses the term migrant to refer to all people on the move who have yet to complete the legal process of claiming asylum. This group includes people fleeing war-torn countries such as Syria, who are likely to be granted refugee status, as well as people who are seeking jobs and better lives, who governments are likely to rule are economic migrants.

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