Support NeoGAF

[CrazyDude]

Austria says it is planning to phase out special measures that have allowed thousands of migrants to travel freely from Hungary to Western Europe.

Chancellor Werner Faymann said Austria would remove the emergency measures for asylum seekers "step by step".

The easing of rules has meant thousands have been able to leave Hungary for Austria and Germany over the weekend.

Germany, where most of the migrants are heading, warned that its willingness to help "should not be overstretched".

The German interior ministry said the decision to allow migrants in over recent days was an exception and that the EU's rules requiring asylum seekers to be processed in the first country they arrived in remained valid.

Amid sharp disagreements among EU members, the UN's Refugee Chief Antonio Guterres said the crisis was "manageable" if member states could agree a joint plan.

Mr Faymann issued his statement after speaking by phone with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Sunday.

"We have always said this is an emergency situation in which we must act quickly and humanely," the Austrian chancellor said.

"We have helped more than 12,000 people in an acute situation. Now we have to move step-by-step away from emergency measures towards normality," he added.

The change means that Austria will restore spot checks on those entering the country, as it had before the weekend.

On Sunday, a group of cars driven by German and Austrian activists travelled to the Hungarian border to pick up migrants and distribute food.

One of the Austrian activists taking part, Angelika Neuwirth, told the BBC: "I think this is my duty. I can't close my eyes anymore."

Hungarian police said anyone taking people across the border was breaking the law on people smuggling - although the activists were able to collect migrants without being stopped.

Thousands of people have passed through Austria this weekend. But now the Austrian government says it is time to slowly stop the unimpeded flow of migrants and re-introduce spot checks on people entering the country.

The decision to open the borders was always meant as a short-term reaction to what Chancellor Faymann called "an emergency situation" - intended to ease the migrant crisis in Hungary.

In the long term, Austria wants European Union countries to share the burden of refugees. The migrant crisis has caused tensions between Austria and Hungary.

In an interview on Austrian te

evision, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban called on Austria to close its borders.

The crisis took a dramatic turn on Friday night, when Hungary removed restrictions on transit and helped migrants reach the Austrian border.

On Saturday, up to 10,000 people travelled by bus, train and on foot to Vienna, with many continuing to Munich and other German cities.

Thousands more were allowed to travel from Hungary to Austria and Germany on Sunday.

The migrants had travelled north through the Balkans - Greece, Macedonia and Serbia - before arriving at Hungary's southern border.

Sunday saw 114 migrants, Syrians bound for Greece, rescued from a fishing boat off Cyprus.

Also on Sunday, Hungarian authorities opened a new camp for migrants reaching the southern border village of Roszke after crossing from Serbia.

Hundreds of recent arrivals were gathered there by police. The BBC's James Reynolds, at the scene, says many are getting restless as they wait to be processed.

Chancellor Merkel is due to hold talks with Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic on Monday.

Hungary is meanwhile pressing ahead with plans to tighten border controls and could send troops to its southern frontier if parliament agrees.

A border fence is due to completed by 15 September.

Germany expects to take in 800,000 people this year. Syrians are the largest group travelling, followed by Afghans and Eritreans.

Although Germany has reaffirmed that the EU rules on processing asylum requests are still in force, last month it waived the rule for people from Syria, allowing them to register in Germany regardless of where they first entered the EU.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34169726

 

[Ahasverus]

You know, if I was Europe (yeah yeah) I'd send some forces and stop the problem form the root, this is unsustainable.

 

[Mrmartel]

Germany is taking 800,000 Refugees this year, but I suspect that will be the end of it. They'll lose public support for it. Now way can they handle 2-3 times that number. This could just be the beginning. Millions more might follow unless the civil wars/bad economies in their home countries improve.

Is this the largest migration in European History?

 

[Linkyn]

Is this the largest migration in European History?

Many are considering the refugee crisis the greatest challenge post-war Europe has faced to date. There is an article in the current issue of Spiegel that draws a graphic comparison of immigration numbers since the mid 20th century ('m not sure whether that was specifically for Germany, or Europe in general - although the two are not really unrelated). There are clear upticks for events like the Hungarian uprisings or the Serbian civil war, but they all pale in comparison to the numbers we are currently seeing.

 

[CrocMother]

You know, if I was Europe (yeah yeah) I'd send some forces and stop the problem form the root, this is unsustainable.

And do what exactly?

 

[reckless]

You know, if I was Europe (yeah yeah) I'd send some forces and stop the problem form the root, this is unsustainable.

You really can't stop this from the root. Any invasion of Syria is gonna open up one hell of a can of worms.

 

[Hoya Destroyer]

You know, if I was Europe (yeah yeah) I'd send some forces and stop the problem form the root, this is unsustainable.

Unless Euro countries begin just straight up denying people refugee spots, then they are pretty much screwed as I see it.
Eventually they might tow back or turn around the boats coming from Libya. Sending people back to Turkey would probably be much harder.

 

[Earendil]

Ok, I've been under a rock for the past week (also known as Maine), so can someone please fill me in on what exactly is going on?

 

[Polari]

Still amazed at the volume Germany is taking in. 800,000 in a single year seems insane.

 

[Mrmartel]

Is there any concrete numbers of the what the gender, age of these migrants are? I've seen a few families, but from most pictures it looks like it's 95% under 40 adult males. Where are their families? Are they taking the risk first, as to get enough resources to bring the women, parents, kids later on?

 

[Linkyn]

Ok, I've been under a rock for the past week (also known as Maine), so can someone please fill me in on what exactly is going on?

In short, after Germany announced it would take in refugees that crossed its borders, many tried to get there through Hungary (which is a common secondary transit country - this is part of the reason Hungary has been fortifying its border with Serbia). Until a few days ago, most of those refugees were stuck in train stations in Budapest and other major cities after trains with German and Austrian destinations were stopped and kept from starting, so that these train stations became de facto temporary refugee camps with horrible living conditions. Eventually, the masses were allowed to depart by implementing emergency measures, which more or less brings us to where we are now.

 

[MrHoot]

You know, if I was Europe (yeah yeah) I'd send some forces and stop the problem form the root, this is unsustainable.

Do you mean armed intervention in Syria and the like ?

The problem there is with that is very similar to the 90's bosnian wars and the blue helmets: it would be an absolute mess. ISIS is pretty well entrenched in the local population and fighting them on their ground would prove problematic: We can count on a lot of civilian casualties as well as for our armed forces, with no guarantee at all of an efficient peacekeeping.

And not only europe, but the US is iffy as well. After the fiascos of Irak and Afghanistan, they're probably going to think twice before sending in other troops there to not get slimed in like last time and have another unmanageable situation on their hand.

At the end of the day, i'd say us in Europe will have no choice. We'll have to work with the refugees in any case

 

[Calamari41]

Still amazed at the volume Germany is taking in. 800,000 in a single year seems insane.

This basically increases their population by almost a solid 1% in just one year, and just from this category alone. The equivalent in the US would be an influx of 3.2 million refugees in a year. Huge numbers.

 

[Mrmartel]

This basically increases their population by almost a solid 1% in just one year, and just from this category alone. The equivalent in the US would be an influx of 3.2 million refugees in a year. Huge numbers.

Yet sustainable. But I don't think another 800,000 will be if this continues into next year.