Monday 14 September 2015

Germany stops all trains from Austria and introduces temporary border controls

Migrants queue on the platform, waiting for a train at Vienna west railway station, Austria
Border control: Germany has limited the flow of refugees
Germany re-imposed border controls on Sunday after Europe's most powerful nation acknowledged it could scarcely cope with thousands of asylum seekers arriving every day.
Germany and Austria agreed over a week ago to let in migrants who had gathered in Hungary, saying it was a one-time measure to ease an emergency.
But the refugees keep coming and German officials have said over the weekend that the speed of the arrivals was straining the country's ability to provide accommodation.
German officials have stopped train traffic to and from Austria for 13 hours. A spokesman for Austrian Federal Railways said the ban was due to last from 5pm today until 6am on Monday.
"The aim of these measures is to limit the current inflows to Germany and to return to orderly procedures when people enter the country," said Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere, adding that this was also necessary for security reasons.

Migrants walk on the platform after arriving by train at the main railway station in Munich
Halted: Migrants on the platform after arriving by train at the main railway station in Munich
Berlin took the step - which is allowed under Europe's Schengen treaty as long as it remains temporary - a day before EU interior ministers hold an emergency meeting to discuss spreading asylum seekers around the 28-nation bloc.
Hungarian police said more than 186,000 people have passed through Hungary from Serbia this year en route to Austria and the migrants' major destination, Germany, which said it has taken in more than 50,000 newcomers in the past week alone
Sorrow: Syrian refugee Asmaa wipes tears as she waits for a train
About 450,000 migrants have arrived in Germany this year. The country is expecting at least 800,000 in 2015 - by far the most in the 28-nation EU.
Earlier, at least 34 people seeking a better life in Europe drowned as they attempted a wind-swept crossing from Turkey to Greece, a journey often made more dangerous because smugglers require asylum seekers to pilot the overloaded craft themselves in choppy seas.

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