The EU may be a federation without borders but Hungary begs to differ. Fed up with an invasion of asylum seekers entering the country from neighbouring Serbia, Hungary has acted to stem the flow by building a fence to secure its frontier sovereignty. Cue the moral outrage from Brussels.
Hungarian authorities announced the plan Wednesday, saying the wall would run the length of the 100-mile border the country shares with Serbia. Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said Hungary could not wait for the EU to find a solution to unfettered immigration.
“The Hungarian government has instructed the interior ministry to physically close the border with Serbia,” Szijjártó told reporters as the decision was announced. He said the ministry had been ordered to “begin preparation work for a 13ft fence along the length of Hungary’s 100-mile border with Serbia.”
“Preparation work for the fence should be completed by next Wednesday. This decision does not break any international treaty; other countries have opted for the same solution.”
Kosovo citizens are by far the largest group of asylum seekers in Hungary, data from the EU’s Eurostat agency shows. Last year, Hungary received more migrants per capita than any other EU country apart from Sweden, with the number shooting up to almost 43,000 people from just 2,000 in 2012. According to official data, 95 per cent of them cross from Serbia.
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