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Hungary Threatens to Shut Border to Stem Migrant Flow From Serbia

© AP Photo / Zoltan Gergely KelemenMounted police officers patrol in the vicinity of Morahalom, 179 kms southeast of Budapest, Hungary, next to the Serbian border
Mounted police officers patrol in the vicinity of Morahalom, 179 kms southeast of Budapest, Hungary, next to the Serbian border - Sputnik International
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Hungary warned Friday it would close its border with Serbia to stop an influx of migrants shortly after Prime Minister Viktor Orban criticized European Union proposals for migrant quotas as "bordering on insanity".

"We don't think it's right that they send us the refugees, they need to be stopped on Serbian territory," Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in a radio interview.

"We take every option into consideration, including the possibility of complete physical closure of borders," Orban said, adding that a decision could be made next Wednesday.

A billboard with a state-funded anti-immigration poster reads in Hungarian 'If you come to Hungary, do not take the Hungarians' jobs !' at the third district of Budapest on June 8, 2015 - Sputnik International
Hungary is Full: Budapest Hopes to Close Border to Illegal Migrants
The two countries will hold a summit early next month to tackle the issue.

Serbia is not yet a member of the EU, though it has started membership talks, while Hungary is part of the Schengen zone.

So far this year, some 54,000 migrants have entered Hungary, and the total this year is expected to be up to 130,000.

Orban's comments came amid an anti-immigration campaign involving billboards with slogans such as, "If you come to Hungary, you cannot take Hungarians' jobs."

At the same time a poll in April said that xenophobia has reached a 14-year high while the anti-immigration Jobbik party has seen its poll ratings rise.

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