Chaos as ‘ biblical’ migrant crisis spreads across Europe
HUNGARY was last night preparing to draft in troops to protect its borders while hundreds of asylum- seekers laid siege to a main railway station.
The capital Budapest was on the brink of civil disorder as refugees protested at the closure of international Keleti station – following clashes between migrants earlier in the day.
The station was later reopened to other passengers sparking a protest by around 1,000 people, mostly fleeing war- torn Syria, and travelling to Munich or Vienna.
Around 100 police formed a blockade as people tried to storm on to trains to the West.
The chaos came as the Europe’s refugee crisis deepened last night.
Ukip leader Nigel Farage said the UK should offer refugee status to “a few thousand people” from Syria but cannot be an open door. He said: “The problem we’ve got is, potentially, we’ve opened the door to an exodus of biblical proportions, meaning millions and millions of people.
“We’ve lost sight of what is a genuine refugee. How many millions does Europe want to take? That really is the question.”
He told BBC Radio 4’ s Today programme: “The problem we have now is if you look at the definition of the EU’s asylum policy, it includes anybody who comes from a war- torn country – and it even includes people leaving extreme poverty.
“The EU has sent the message that anybody who comes across the Mediterranean or Turkey – once they have set foot in an EU country they will be accepted. That’s a message to hundreds of thousands of people.”
Hungary has become the flashpoint of the European migrant crisis as the primary gateway to the EU through the Balkans.
After the clashes yesterday, officials announced there would be no trains leaving for Austria or Germany until further notice.
Last night, Hungary’s defence ministry said up to 3,500 soldiers could be sent to the southern border with Serbia to help with the refugee crisis.