Hungary: EU Commissioner for migration urges unity in dealing with refugee crisis

Dimitris Avramopoulos, the EU Commissioner for migration, said that “Europe is standing by Hungary,” during a visit to the Bicske asylum reception centre outside Budapest, on Thursday. He went on urging EU ‘member states to agree to the Commission’s proposals to help manage the situation.’ The EU chief was speaking after meeting earlier in the day with the interior and foreign ministers of Hungary, in Budapest. Avramopoulos has urged Hungary to work with the EU Commission to find long-lasting answers to the refugee crisis, adding that violence was not the solution. The EU Commissioner has also criticised the fences being built by the Hungarian authorities along their border with Serbia, stating that they were temporary solutions. The visit comes as Hungarian law enforcement clashed with refugees and migrants who had gathered at the Roszke-Horgos checkpoint on the Serbian border, on Wednesday. 29 people were arrested during the violence. Tensions reportedly calmed down after buses and taxis took those willing to continue their trip to EU via Croatia, only 500 metres (1,640 feet) from where the altercations are taking place, after Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic promised to help refugees reach Western Europe. Milanovic has denounced Hungary's border policy and use of a razor wire fence as a "terrible message" to the world. Responding to Hungary's border control, Serbia has also heavily criticised Budapest's policing tactics at their southern frontier.