Hungary ready to assist border protection along new migrant route, says official

Hungary is ready to help protect the borders of countries along the new migration route by sending police units if necessary, the prime minister’s chief security advisor said on Thursday.

The new migrant route starts out from Albania and goes through Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia to Austria and Italy,

György Bakondi told public broadcaster M1.

At a meeting on Wednesday focusing on the protection of the borders of countries along the new route, the police chiefs of the Western Balkan countries agreed that the borders should be protected by the military, he said.

The interior ministers of the Western Balkan countries are scheduled to meet soon to decide on how to support the border protection efforts, Bakondi said.

He said

a growing number of illegal migrants were entering Europe via the Turkish-Greek border, with the Mediterranean passage having become less active.

The nationality composition of migrants arriving in Europe has also changed with more and more Iranian, Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Afghan citizens attempting to reach the continent, Bakondi added.

Photo: MTI/AP/Amel Emric

Source: MTI