Europe’s migrant crisis worsens: tempers run high with Budapest standoff as Germany mulls equal distribution

The migrant crisis in Europe escalated on Tuesday with thousands of migrants pouring in from the Middle East and Africa, leading to high tensions in Budapest, Hungary. A standoff developed between migrants and authorities at Keleti station, where the migrants were not allowed to boarding trains bound for Germany by Hungarian officials.

Though Germany, Italy and France have called for the “fair distribution” of refugees throughout the EU, chaos still prevails in many border-states. Faced by the rising pressure from migrants, Italy and Greece are sore at the surging numbers arriving on their shores that are compounded by the apparent lack of resources in handling such a big migrant influx.

Hungary standoff

At Keleti station, scuffles broke out between the two sides as migrants insisted on travelling to Germany and other countries, but Hungarian officials said they would enforce EU rules. The migrants were also jeered by hundreds of Jobbik party activists, who waved flags and hurled abuses at them as they were crossing the border from Serbia, reports the BBC. The migrants protested and chanted "Freedom, freedom," waving train tickets.

The stalemate around Keleti station continues with many families not knowing what to do. Police personnel have blocked the entrance to the station and migrants are becoming frustrated and venting their anger. Two Syrian girls complained that the Hungarians were treating them with contempt, and hotels and restaurants around the station are not allowing them in.

According to media reports, a tussle also broke out at another railway station in Budapest where migrants occupied an entire platform after refusing to board a train sending them to a reception centre in Debrecen. According to police, the "illegal immigrants" held their children aloft and cried for permission to proceed freely to Germany.

Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban will meet EU chiefs on Thursday to discuss the crisis. An the U.K. border, angry migrants disrupted Eurostar trains plying between London and Paris as they got on to train tracks.

In a new update, the Wall Street Journal reports that Budapest will open a new temporary site for 1,000 migrants at the location of a former street market near the Keleti station. The site will supply necessities such as tents, drinking water and basic healthcare to replace the existing facility in front of the station. “The city of Budapest has no legal obligation to do anything on the migrant issue,” Budapest Mayor Istvan Tarlos said, adding that these measures were being done in the spirit of goodwill.

Dublin regulation

Observers say the migrant crisis will abate if there is a change in rules regarding their intake. Currently, the intake of migrants in Europe is bound by a rule known as the Dublin Regulation, which requires refugees to seek asylum in the first EU country they enter. But this is not looking tenable at present as border countries such as Hungary, Italy and Greece are distressed by the huge numbers at their frontiers.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is attempting to coordinate a common EU stance about the issue, has called for the equal distribution of asylum seekers across the EU. However, her efforts have faced significant opposition from other European states, with U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron saying that taking "more and more" refugees is not the answer.

Overall, the number of migrants entering Europe has reached a record with 107,500 arriving in July alone. Germany expects to take in 800,000 migrants this year, which will be four times more than last year's total. To think about a consensus solution, EU interior and justice ministers are meeting in Brussels on Sep.14 to address the crisis.

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