BUDAPEST: Hungary on Monday gave the army drastic new powers to stem illegal migration ahead of a series of crunch EU meetings this week on how to deal with the unrelenting stream of refugees entering Europe.
Hundreds of thousands fleeing conflict and poverty have already made it into western Europe this year, with Austria registering 22,700 arrivals this weekend alone, having been shunted from one Balkan country to the next as they travelled up from Greece.
Lawmakers in Hungary, which sealed off its border with Serbia last week to avoid migrants and refugees using the country as a thoroughfare to the west, on Monday approved a final package of sweeping new anti-migrant laws.
Under the legislation, the army is allowed to take part in border control and use non-lethal force, while police will be able to enter private homes to look for illegal migrants.
It comes a week after illegal border-crossing became a crime punishable by up to five years in jail.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban told lawmakers in Budapest that migrants were "overrunning" Europe.
"They're not just banging on the door, they're breaking the door down on top of us," the 52-year-old right-winger said.
"Our borders are in danger, our way of life built on respect for the law, Hungary and the whole of Europe is in danger."
AFP
