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Friday, September 25, 2015

Hungary pledges to consult before shutting Croat border

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary's prime minister pledged Friday to seek support from the United Nations and other nations in the region before shutting down its border with Croatia — a move that would slam the door on the flow of migrants seeking refuge in other parts of Europe. Viktor Orban promised to consult with others as Hungary moves to complete a razor wire fence along its Croatian border, a decision that would block the flow of migrants and insert more confusion into an already chaotic situation in the Balkans. The Austrian leader said Hungary's measures to secure the EU external border were lawful, but stressed that the right to asylum is a human right — and called on Orban to honor laws both guaranteeing freedom of movement in the so-called Schengen zone and laws governing the right to asylum. In Croatia, meanwhile, rain and colder temperatures added to the misery of people, many of whom had taken perilous sea journeys to land in Greece and start walking for days to go north. Hungary has also installed spools of razor wire near a border crossing with Slovenia, which like Hungary is part of the EU's Schengen zone of passport-free travel.


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