Austrian chancellor urges Hungary to uphold EU laws concerning migrant crisis

Austrian chancellor Werner Faymann on Thursday called on his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban to stick to EU laws concerning the migrant crisis, after the two had a heated exchange on Wednesday.

The two leaders were in attendance at the EU special summit in Brussels that was held to discuss the ongoing crisis when it came to the exchange, sparked by Orban accusing Austria and Germany of being responsible for the crisis.

Faymann responded by accusing Hungary of poorly treating migrants passing through its territory, which in turn led to Orban allegedly threatening among other things to allow the migrants to pass through Hungary and into Austria and Germany unhindered.

In a press release Thursday, Faymann stated that laws are to be upheld, and "that counts for both the Schengen and Dublin Regulations as well as for human rights and the right to asylum."

He additionally criticized the fence Hungary had erected at its border with Serbia, which, while legally possible to do, has "very obviously not hindered the entry of refugees into Hungary."

He noted that since the completion of the fence in mid-September nearly 60,000 migrants have entered Austria via Hungary, and stressed the need for a common European approach to the problem.

Despite the present tension between the two sides, the Hungarian government announced on Thursday that Orban as well as several other senior ministers are to visit Vienna on Friday to discuss the migrant crisis.

They are to meet both Faymann and vice-chancellor Reinhold Mitterlehner, as well as leader of the far-right Freedom Party, Heinz-Christian Strache. Endit