Austria orders asylum seekers off trains at Hungarian border

Austrian security forces stopped two trains with several hundred asylum seekers on board near the border with Hungary on Monday, hours after authorities in Budapest let them depart despite many not having EU visas.

The trains were halted near the Hungarian border town of Hegeshalom, and Austrian police proceeded to check their papers.

One of the trains was bound for Munich and carried 300 to 400 migrants, most of whom were Syrians, police spokesman Roman Hahslinger told AFP.

"It could well be that others will be stopped. It remains to be seen how many will actually arrive," he said, adding that Austria was in close contact with Hungarian and German authorities.

He said that asylum seekers who had already been registered at refugee processing centres in Hungary would be returned to Budapest, while the others would be allowed to continue their journey.

The asylum seekers were among 2,000 people who were stuck for several days in makeshift refugee camps at Budapest train stations. Hungarian police had prevented them from departing the country, even if they had valid papers and train tickets, because they did not have the required visa to move around the EU’s passport-free Schengen Zone.

However, the people took advantage of the lack of police presence at Budapest’s Keleti station on Monday to depart on trains leaving to Berlin, Vienna, and Munich.

According to EU laws, known as the Dublin provision, asylum-seekers must remain in the first European country they enter while their application is being processed, and those who travel to other member states face deportation back to the EU country they originally entered.

Hungary has become a popular frontline country for asylum seekers arriving via the western Balkans route as they flee war and unrest in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. However, many of them have no intentions of remaining in Hungary but want to reach Germany – whose government last week eased asylum rules for Syrians to relieve pressure on southern European countries.

The Hungarian government has criticised Germany's decision, warning that it "built up the hopes of illegal immigrants".

Budapest demanded on Monday that Berlin clarify "the legal situation, in order to eliminate this ambiguity and controversy".

"It is in our common interest that all member states abide by EU legislation. Order and legality must be restored at the borders of the European Union,” government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs said.