EU quota system 'will not let refugees choose destination'

Refugees will not get to choose what country they go to under a proposed European Union quota system to share the burden of new arrivals, a German government official has warned.

EU quota system 'will not let refugees choose destination'

Refugees will not get to choose what country they go to under a proposed European Union quota system to share the burden of new arrivals, a German government official has warned.

Germany, which is a favoured destination and has taken the most asylum seekers in the 28-nation EU, wants an agreement on quotas but faces resistance from several other countries.

Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere told the Tagesspiegel daily that if refugees get protection in Europe they must accept being distributed around the EU.

He said: “There can be no free choice of residence for refugees. That doesn’t exist anywhere in the world.”

In Munich, main point of entry for migrants to Germany, police said a total of 12,200 migrants arrived on Saturday and the flow is continuing into the city.

Federal police spokesman Simon Hegewald said more than 700 people fleeing their homelands arrived at the city’s main station on Sunday morning.

Officials in Munich were putting up tents but say their capacity to house the newcomers arriving from Hungary via Austria is being stretched to the limit. They are calling for more help from other places in Germany.

In Hungary, the flow of migrants hit another record as Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government prepares an unprecedented border clampdown.

Police said 4,330 migrants were detained on Saturday, over 700 more than the previous one-day mark. Hungary is rushing to complete a fence on its border with Serbia and starting on Tuesday, new rules take effect criminalising illegal border crossings and speeding up decisions about asylum requests.

Hungarian authorities hope the 4m (13-ft) high fence, more police at the border and tighter migration rules should deter migrants from trying to enter the country as they strive to reach Germany or other destinations in Western Europe.

At the least, authorities hope it will bring order to their mandatory registration system – which has crumbled as the number of migrants has grown.

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