Hungary orders Serbian border closed to keep out migrants

Hungary's foreign minister said Wednesday the government has ordered the closure of the EU country's border with Serbia and the construction of a fence along its length to keep out migrants.

"The Hungarian government has instructed the interior ministry to physically close the border with Serbia," Peter Szijjarto told reporters.

He said the ministry had been to tasked to "begin preparation work for a four-metre-high (13-foot-high) fence along the length of Hungary's 175-kilometre (110-mile) border with Serbia."

"Preparation work for the fence should be completed by next Wednesday," he said.

"This decision does not break any international treaty, other countries have opted for the same solution."
Serbia is not yet a member of the European Union, though it has started membership talks, while EU member Hungary is part of the passport-free Schengen zone.

This means that once in Hungary, migrants can travel onwards easily to other countries in the zone.

Last year, Hungary received more refugees per capita than any other EU country apart from Sweden, shooting up to almost 43,000 people from just 2,000 in 2012.

According to official data, 95 percent of them cross from Serbia.
So far this year, some 54,000 migrants have entered Hungary, and the total this year is expected to be up to 130,000, Prime Minister Viktor Orban's chief of staff Janos Lazar said last Thursday.

The announcement comes amid a anti-immigration campaign by Orban's government involving billboards with slogans such as, "If you come to Hungary, you cannot take Hungarians' jobs."

The cabinets of Hungary and Serbia will hold a summit early July to tackle the issue, Orban said last week.