175 km fence on Hungarian-Serbian border to be ready by November

A 175-km-long, 4-meter-high fence along Hungary's full border with Serbia will be in place by Nov. 30, Hungary's Defense Minister Csaba Hende told a news conference in S. Hungarian Morahalom on Thursday, where the first section is being built, local wire service MTI reported.

Hende said that the current fence section was intended as a model and was being constructed using four different technologies.

The one which proves best will be chosen for the entire fence, and then construction will get underway at 10-12 venues simultaneously, he added.

Hende said he expected to see 900 members of the armed forces at work on the project.

The government will decide on which technology to use by Tuesday, said Interior Minister Sandor Pinter, also addressing the news conference.

The Defense Ministry will be in charge of the project, he added, noting that if necessary the Interior Ministry would help by contributing to the workforce. Some 6.5 billion forints (22.9 million U.S. dollars) has been set aside for the job, he added.

Pinter underlined that Hungary respected the provisions of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights on refugees and was ready to receive everyone who was entitled to refugee status. Only 8 percent of arrivals have that entitlement, he added.

Pinter also noted that the fence was a temporary measure that would remain in place until the migration pressure declined. The goal, he said, was to have asylum-seekers cross into Hungary at official border crossings where they could submit their requests for asylum.

Pinter said that so far this year 81,333 people were apprehended after crossing the border illegally, and over 80,000 of them had entered Hungary from Serbia.

Government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs told the news conference that the fence itself was not a solution, but it was a necessary and unavoidable measure. Endit