Migrants stream north from Greece as torrential rains play havoc

EU interior ministers will meet Monday to discuss a plan unveiled by European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker to share out 160,000 refugees across the bloc and ease the burden on frontline states.

According to police, between midnight (2200 GMT) and 3:00 a.m. alone, more than 1,700 asylum seekers crossed the border at Nickelsdorf in eastern Austria, while on Thursday morning some 2,800 people were present at the site waiting for special buses and trains to take them to Vienna and beyond.

Germany, which has already welcomed 450,000 migrants this year, wants the 28-nation group to go further, calling for no limits to the quotas.

“The first priority today is and must be tackling the refugee crisis“, said Juncker. “Our common history is marked by millions of Europeans fleeing from religious or political persecution, from war, dictatorship, or oppression”. Thousands of new asylum seekers landed on overburdened Greek islands.

The crisis in Ukraine arose when pro-EU forces, including Western-backed radical nationalists, ousted then President Viktor Yanukovych in late February 2014 after he refused to sign an association agreement with the EU.

“We can build walls and fences … but imagine for a second if it were you, your children in your arms …”

His position echoed that of Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka, who also reiterated on Wednesday his stance against quotas but a readiness to participate in other forms of response to the crisis. “And what we need is the first step”.

Austrian railways is suspending all traffic between Hungary and Austria as migrants continue to flow over the border.

Under the proposals, 120,000 refugees will be relocated from Greece, Italy and Hungary – three European Union nations at the forefront of the crisis, thanks to transit routes across the Mediterranean and through the Balkans.

Economic migrants whose claims for refugee status fail will be returned home more quickly.

Juncker advocated a permanent relocation mechanism to deal with such emergency situations in the future.

“This shows that a big majority of migrants are arriving only in the hope of a better life, which is humanly understandable but it poses a threat to the whole of Europe”, he added. Europe’s aging, shrinking societies have fewer paths to citizenship than the United States, and the proposal would create a more open, diverse continent.

Romania’s president says there is “no way” his country will accept the extra number of migrants the European Commission has proposed. The numbers have been accelerating. “It means that we support the neighbouring countries of Syria with massive financial aid”.

But even if it is approved Monday, Juncker’s plan left many questions unanswered. Germany and France would receive the highest numbers.

Globally, there is a need to address the ongoing sources of conflict and other nations must recognise their responsibility in helping these refugees too.

The challenges were evident Wednesday at the chaotic border between Hungary and Serbia, where hundreds of migrants continued to arrive along train tracks and across cornfields. Hungarian authorities on Tuesday began busing tired m…

Lazar reiterated that Hungary considered Serbia and Greece, a European Union member, as safe countries in which people could seek asylum, and therefore “different rules of the game” would apply to refugees and migrants arriving in Hungary through those countries from next week. Ireland is also taking 520 refugees from camps outside Europe.

Harper, the UNHCR representative, said that while Jordan has legitimate security concerns about extremists, it should expedite the screening and move it from the desert to recognized refugee camps.