Prague - The Czech and Slovak interior ministers raised prospects on Friday of creating a train corridor for migrants travelling to Germany from Hungary as central European prime ministers underlined opposition to quotas to solve an escalating crisis.
The corridor would be considered if Hungary and Germany could reach agreemnent on how to deal with the influx of migrants, the ministers said.
“If there is some public pledge from Germany that it will accept and not return Syrian refugees who are registered in some European country, we are ready to open a corridor if there is an agreement between Hungary and Germany,” Czech Interior Minister Milan Chovanec told reporters in Prague after meeting his Slovak counterpart Robert Kalinak.
Tens of thousands of migrants, primarily from war-torn areas of Syria and Afghanistan, have arrived in Europe in recent months and authorities are struggling to cope.
Hungary has emerged as the primary entry point for refugees reaching the European Union in hopes of moving on to richer nations such as Germany. Hungary's right-wing government is one of the most vocal on the continent in opposing large-scale immigration.
The prime ministers of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary reiterated their opposition to any EU plans for mandatory migrant quotas for member states.
“Any discussion on quotas is just a sideshow, it does not touch the essence of the problem, which has to do with the situation in countries like Syria or Libya, the question of... border protection, refugee registration in countries they first enter and regulation of migration within the EU,” Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said.
He said the four countries were ready to increase their commitment in assistance to countries facing the heaviest influx of migrants and step up the fight against trafficking and militant group Islamic State, which has occupied swathes of Syria.
Germany has said it will let Syrians register for asylum regardless of where they enter the EU, causing confusion among neighboring countries who have alternated between letting them through and stopping them.
Reuters