EU leaders pledge help for migrants

The flow of migrants trying to reach Europe to escape war zones in the Middle East and poverty and turmoil in Africa shows no signs of easing.

On Monday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on EU states to work together to tackle the crisis, while the French and UK leaders pledged to accommodate thousands of those in need of shelter.

Large numbers of migrants entering Europe should be seen as immigrants, not as refugees, because they are seeking a 'German life' and refuse to stay in the first safe country they reach, Hungary's prime minister said today.

Viktor Orban, a right-wing populist whose robust handling of the migrant crisis has drawn both condemnation and praise, also said the EU should consider providing financial support to countries such as Turkey which are near to the conflict zones so that migrants stay there and do not move on.

Syrians, Iraqis and others entering Greece, Macedonia, Serbia or Hungary are safe in those countries and, in line with EU rules, should have their asylum applications processed there, Orban told a gathering of Hungarian diplomats in Budapest.

'If they want to continue on from Hungary, it's not because they are in danger, it's because they want something else,' he said, adding that the migrants' target was Germany and 'a German life' not physical safety.

His comments came as President Francois Hollande warned that without a united EU policy to share the burden of migrants, the borderless Schengen system would collapse.

He also accused Britain of 'shirking' its responsibility to take its fair share of the burden, linking the issue implicitly to London's bid to renegotiate its relationship with the EU before a referendum due by the end of 2017.

Hollande said: 'On the issue of refugees, it's true that Britain is not in the Schengen zone and has a certain number of capabilities that are different to Europe. 

'But that doesn't exempt it – and David Cameron has said this himself – from making an effort in terms of solidarity.

'In Calais, these are people who are not looking for asylum in France but to go the UK. Everyone must understand that you can't demand solidarity when there's a problem and shirk your duties when there are solutions.' 

The vast majority of migrants reaching Hungary aim to travel on to Germany and other wealthier western European countries.