According to Laura Ferrara, Italian Eurosceptic MEP, "what’s happening with the migrants shows us European project needs to be changed otherwise its doomed to fail."
"We’re on the edge of the abyss," said Eva Joly, French Green MEP.
"Mrs Merkel has to stop playing with fire, it’s the threat from the far right that is going to see Europe weakened. National leaders have until Sunday to step up to the plate," said Joly.
Refugees trapped & vulnerable in #Balkans no-man's land as #Hungary closes doors.In pictures: http://t.co/2axkgVKeG5 pic.twitter.com/nltxeLvkxc
— S.O.S. Europe (@SOS_Europe) July 7, 2015
Meanwhile a desperate sounding Greek Left MEP, Dimitrios Papadimoulis, told the European Parliament: "A united Europe without Greece, is like a child without a birth certificate."
"We have social pain in Greece. Stop offending Greece and the Greeks. Stop playing with matches in a barrel of explosives. Farage, Pen, stop playing the populist gain to put your far right expectations and desires."
Immigration Issue Ripping Europe Apart
And while MEPs tussle for an agreement on how to cope with the numbers of asylum seekers arriving by boat on the Mediterranean Sea, an increasing number of asylum seekers from Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq are choosing a less trodden path into Hungary which is fast becoming more popular.
Stuck between #Greece on its knees and #Hungary, refugees & migrants trapped in #Balkans https://t.co/Rnp935rWwr pic.twitter.com/2Gye2w65nX
— Gauri van Gulik (@GaurivanGulik) July 7, 2015
The Western Balkan route has overtaken the Mediterranean Sea to become the busiest irregular passage to the European Union. People travel from Turkey to Greece by sea then over land across Macedonia to Serbia and into Hungary.
The Hungarian government says more than 73,000 "illegal migrants" have arrived in Hungary so far this year. By the end of June, 61,000 had filed asylum claims. Many new arrivals are reported to be sleeping under trees or in tents.
Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party is attempting to stoke anti-migrant sentiment in the country. A recent advertising campaign on billboards featured slogans like: "If you come to Hungary, do not take the jobs of Hungarians." The UN Refugee Council denounced the campaign.
And now Hungary has amended legislation on the classification of asylum seekers. The Hungarian authorities, with support of the far right Jobbik party, will regard Serbia, Macedonia, Bulgaria and Greece as "safe" countries.
Any asylum seeker crossing the country’s border from a "safe" country will be classed as an "economic migrant" instead. This means Hungary can get rid of such migrants without even investigating their claim.
But critics say returning asylum seekers to Serbia, which lacks a functioning system, is a violation of Hungary’s obligations under the 1951 Refugee Convention.
The Hungarian government has also passed a new law allowing a metal fence to be built on its border with Serbia to stop migrants entering, where refugees and asylum seekers have reported being pushed, slapped, kicked and beaten by Serbian border police.
New security walls have also been built on the Greek and Bulgarian borders with Turkey, forcing migrants to re-route.
Meanwhile in Italy, the bodies of 13 rescued migrants from the Mediterranean Sea have been buried while other countries look on, refusing to take any more asylum seekers.
The European Council has failed to reach an agreement to relocate 40,000 asylum seekers among EU member states. And Greece, which is swamped in an economic crisis, has overtaken Italy as the gateway for migrants to reach Europe.
