Hungary sees fresh migrant influx

Hungary yesterday reported a sharp rise in the numbers of migrants breaching its southern borders in February, the first significant surge since the frontiers were sealed last year.

Around 1,500 migrants tried to enter the EU member state illegally from Serbia this month, with 500 alone caught between Friday and Sunday, police said in a statement.

Many were economic migrants from Morocco, Iran and Pakistan, police said. Unlike Syrians, they are unlikely to be granted asylum in Europe and face deportation.

About 300,000 migrants and refugees passed through Hungary last year, before right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban sealed off the southern borders with razor wire and fences in September and October.

Meanwhile, Greece said yesterday it was taking action to persuade Macedonia to take in Afghan migrants as thousands remained stranded at the border and the main port in Athens.

"We have begun diplomatic moves... we believe the problem will be resolved," junior interior minister for migration Yiannis Mouzalas told parliamentary television.