Britain's interior minister says she would not agree — "not in a thousand years" — to a common European immigration policy to deal with the flow of migrants and refugees coming to the continent.
Home Secretary Theresa May told the Conservative Party conference Tuesday that Britain should tighten control of its borders, admitting vulnerable refugees but keeping out many people who aspire to a better life.
She said other European countries should also toughen up, arguing that in the last few years more people had applied for asylum in the EU from Balkan countries — which have not seen war for years — than from Syria.
She said the migration crisis "can only be resolved by nation states taking responsibility themselves — and protecting their own national borders."
Germany's interior minister says he won't update his forecast that some 800,000 migrants will arrive this year in light of the continuing influx, arguing that raising it would be misinterpreted as an invitation.
Thomas de Maiziere said in mid-August that Germany could see up to 800,000 arrivals this year. The influx accelerated last month, and the vice chancellor has said 1 million newcomers are likely. The Bild daily reported Monday that unspecified authorities now expect up to 1.5 million, a report the government rejected.
De Maiziere said Tuesday it isn't clear what effect colder weather will have and pointed to efforts toward an international solution. He added: "Any new forecast would be misinterpreted by traffickers and others as an extra invitation, and I don't want to contribute to that."
The anti-immigration Freedom Party led by Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders has opened an online register where citizens can report problems caused by asylum seekers in the Netherlands.
Wilders, known for his anti-Islam rhetoric, said in a statement Tuesday that "with its crazy open-border policy the government is importing tens of thousands of asylum-seekers" and adds that "sadly many Dutch citizens will experience problems."
While many Dutch people have actively welcomed asylum-seekers, Wilders' party has been rising in opinion polls as he has campaigned for the country to close its borders to migrants.
According to the Dutch government's statistics office, some 17,000 people applied for asylum in the Netherlands from January through August.
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Hungary's foreign minister says the government is preparing to step up its opposition to the European Union's plan to relocate 120,000 asylum seekers.
Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said Tuesday that the government would seek support from all parties in parliament "to be able to take up the fight against the mandatory quota to take in migrants with the strongest authority possible."
Hungary last month was among four Eastern European countries to vote against the EU relocation plan. Though Hungary always rejected the idea, it initially said it respected the majority decision. Since then, however, opposition to the scheme has grown more vocal.
Speaking after a meeting between Prime Minister Viktor Orban and leaders of the government and opposition parties, Szijjarto said everyone was opposed to the relocation quotas but there was no consensus about how the government should contest it.