Brussels, 14/07/2015(Agence Europe) - On Monday 13 July, Hungary began building a wall at the border with Serbia in an effort to prevent the influx of migrants arriving in the country. Last week, the Hungarian Parliament endorsed this government project.
The government of Viktor Orban indicated in a statement that the first 150 m section of the wall had begun in the town of Morahalom. First of all, the government intends to build sections of the wall at the most sensitive points on the border that are “most exposed to migratory pressure”. An average of around 1,000 migrants are crossing the border every day, explained the ministries of defence and the interior in a declaration.
According to data published by the Frontex agency on 23 June, Hungary constituted the first port of call in the EU for migrants arriving in Europe via Greece and Bulgaria.
In May, 10,000 migrants had been “intercepted”. Between 1 January and 31 May 2015, 50,000 migrants arrived via Hungary and its border with Serbia.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, attended a ministerial meeting on immigration in Luxembourg on 9 July. He criticised the wall and these kinds of measures in general and said that they “do not provide a solution” and that they needed to develop more legal ways of emigration. (Solenn Paulic)