Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said people in Europe are “full of fear” because its leaders are “not able to control” an unprecedented influx of migrants.
Speaking after talks with European Parliament President Martin Schulz in Brussels on September 3, Orban described the migrant crisis as a “German problem,” not a European one.
"Nobody would like to stay in Hungary," he said. "Our job is only to register them."
Reacting to Orban's comments, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the refugee influx "is a problem that concerns us all in Europe" and that her country is doing what is morally necessary.
She said Hungary is right to say that the EU's borders have to be better protected and migrants registered "but of course that's not the end of it."
The comments come as at least 2,000 migrants have been stuck in Budapest since September 1, when migrants were prevented from getting on trains at the Hungarian capital’s main station.
Many want to travel to Germany, but Hungary says it is enforcing EU rules.
Police reopened the Keleti station to migrants early on September 3, but Hungary's railway company said it had suspended all direct trains to Western destinations.