Austria is planning to phase out special measures that have allowed thousands of migrants to travel freely from Hungary to Western Europe, Chancellor Werner Faymann said.
The emergency measures for asylum seekers will be removed “step by step”, the chancellor added.
The easing of rules has meant thousands have been able to leave Hungary for Austria and Germany over the weekend.
Germany, where most of the migrants are heading, warned that its willingness to help “should not be overstretched”.
The German interior ministry said the decision to allow migrants in over recent days was an exception and that the EU’s rules requiring asylum seekers to be processed in the first country they arrived in remained valid.
Chancellor Werner Faymann issued his statement after speaking by phone with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Hungarian PM Viktor Orban on September 6.
Photo AP
“We have always said this is an emergency situation in which we must act quickly and humanely,” the Austrian chancellor said.
“We have helped more than 12,000 people in an acute situation. Now we have to move step-by-step away from emergency measures towards normality,” he added.
The change means that Austria will restore spot checks on those entering the country, as it had before the weekend.
On September 6, a group of cars driven by German and Austrian activists travelled to Hungary to pick up migrants and distribute food.
Hungarian police said anyone taking people across the border was breaking the law on people smuggling – although the activists were able to collect migrants without being stopped.
The crisis took a dramatic turn on September 4, when Hungary removed restrictions on transit and helped migrants reach the Austrian border.
On September 5, about 10,000 people travelled by bus, train and on foot to Vienna, with many continuing to Munich and other German cities.
Thousands more were allowed to travel from Hungary to Austria and Germany on September 6.
The migrants had travelled north through the Balkans – Greece, Macedonia and Serbia – before arriving at Hungary’s southern border.
Germany and Austria are expecting thousands more migrants to arrive from Hungary after Budapest government eased restrictions on their travel on September 5.
Thousands of migrants traveled to the Austrian border by bus, by train and on foot before moving on to Vienna and Munich.
Austrian officials are laying on more trains as needed.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is to hold talks with her coalition partners on a crisis that has divided the EU.
After days of confrontation and chaos, Hungary opened its borders with Austria and bussed thousands of migrants to the frontier.
Up to 10,000 arrived at the border on September 5, according to the Austrian authorities, who have said they do not plan to limit the numbers crossing into the country.
Photo Reuters
Many traveled straight on to Munich, southern Germany, where locals greeted them with applause, giving sweets to the children among the new arrivals.
They have been sent on to reception centers to be registered and receive food and clothing.
Both Germany and Hungary have said the current measures are aimed at averting a humanitarian crisis, and will not set a precedent.
The rules requiring refugees to apply for asylum in the first country they land in “are still valid, and we expect other European Union member states to stick to them”, a German government spokesman said.
Chancellor Angela Merkel has said Germany can cope with the influx of newcomers without raising taxes or jeopardizing its budget.
Germany is the key destination for arrivals on European shores, and expects to take in 800,000 people this year.
Syrians fleeing a brutal civil conflict are the largest group travelling, followed by Afghans and Eritreans.
There is little sign of a co-ordinated EU response to the crisis, despite more than 350,000 migrants having crossed the EU’s borders in 2015 alone.
Germany, backed by the European Commission, has been pushing for a quota system for dividing the people reaching Europe between member states.
However, this has been opposed by several eastern members.
On September 5, Hungary said that while it had temporarily relaxed restrictions on the transit of asylum seekers, it was pressing ahead with plans to tighten border controls and could send troops to its southern frontier if parliament agreed.
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