Former Polish PM: Muslim migrants are carrying diseases that could hurt the local populations
Former Polish prime minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski says migrants who have arrived recently in Europe are carrying diseases that could hurt the local populations.
The words sparked a sharp rebuke on Wednesday from a left-wing politician, Janusz Palikot, who slammed Kaczynski's words as racist language that Adolf Hitler "would not be ashamed of."
Kaczynski, whose opposition Law and Justice party is expected to win parliamentary elections on Oct. 25, told voters Tuesday in Makow Mazowiecki that: "There are already signs of the emergence of very dangerous diseases which haven't been seen in Europe for a long time: cholera on Greek islands; dysentery in Vienna; various types of parasites, protozoa, which aren't dangerous in the organisms of these people, but which could be dangerous here."
EU lashes nations for not providing funds and personnel to deal with Muslim migrant tsunami
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union lashed out at member countries for failing to come up with funds and experts they promised to help cope with the refugee emergency, with the crisis set to take center stage at Thursday's summit of EU leaders.
The European Commission complained Wednesday that only three of 28 nations have pledged a total of just 12 million euros ($13.7 million) to a fund to help African nations better manage their borders. The pot is meant to total 1.8 billion euros (about $2 billion) over two years.
The EU's border agency and asylum office have appealed for a total of around 1,000 officers to help fingerprint people and decide whether they are eligible for asylum. So far, about a dozen of the 28 EU nations have offered around 130 personnel.
"Words need to be matched with action," European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans told reporters, in a message timed to reach the heads of state and government ahead of the summit in Brussels.
More than 500,000 people fleeing war or poverty have entered Europe this year, most of them via Greece and Italy, overwhelming border authorities and reception facilities. Under the media spotlight, EU leaders pledged last month to provide hundreds of millions of euros in aid for Syrian refugees and to tackle the problem at its roots, in Africa and Turkey.
In an effort to spur countries into action, the European Commission last month also sent 40 warning letters to members over their failure to properly implement EU asylum laws and procedures. None have replied.
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Croatia to build a fence on its border to stop the Muslim migrant influx
Croatia's conservative president says her country might need to build a fence on its border to stop the migrant influx just as neighboring Hungary has done.
President Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic tells the Jutarnji List daily on Wednesday that "I think some kind of a fence or physical barrier will be needed in the future."
She adds "I would like to avoid that, but I don't see how else we can protect ourselves," particularly if neighboring countries close their borders with Croatia.
Hungary has sealed its border with Serbia and threatened to do the same with Croatia because of the tens of thousands of migrants crossing through to go to Western Europe. Croatia's liberal government has ruled out building a fence.
More than 170,000 asylum-seekers have passed through Croatia since mid-September.
Austria to build large air tents on the border to deal with unabated daily influx of thousands of Muslim migrants
Authorities in Austria plan to build four large tents that can shelter thousands of refugees at the main border crossing into Austria from Hungary to deal with the daily influx.
Police spokesman Gerhard Koller said Wednesday the air tents are needed due to increased cold and the unabated arrivals. He says the tents will have heat and power, will be able to shelter 4,000 people and will be ready in the next two weeks at the Nickelsdorf crossing.
He says nearly 5,000 people fleeing their homelands arrived Wednesday alone before noon, with 21,000 coming last weekend.
German security forces are stretched to the limit dealing with Muslim migrant related problems and crimes
German police and city officials say the federal government needs to quickly come up with long-term plans for dealing with the massive influx of asylum-seekers. They say more police officers, teachers and other support personnel are needed immediately.
Gerd Landsberg, head of the Federation of German Cities and Municipalities, says "we need a national, a European and also an international strategy" to slow the flow of newcomers. He told reporters Wednesday that Germans were losing confidence in the government's ability to deal with the influx.
German Police Union head Rainer Wendt says security forces are stretched to the limit dealing with border controls, attacks on refugee homes and crimes inside the refugee facilities. He says "we need quick relief now."
Slovakia, Czech Republic and Poland to deploy small police and army units to Hungary to help deal with Muslim migrant invasion
Slovakia's government has approved a plan to dispatch 50 police officers in Hungary to help protect the external border of the European Union. Prime Minister Robert Fico says the officers will be deployed at the Hungarian border with Serbia at Hungary's request.
The Czech Republic is also sending 25 soldiers to Hungary's border with Croatia this week and has announced it was ready to deploy 50 police officers and up to 100 soldiers in Hungary.
Fico said Wednesday the Polish government is expected to announce its contribution to help Hungary later in the day.
The four EU countries are also known as the Visegrad Group.
More Muslim migrants to be shared among EU members; 3,700 arrived in Greece in the last 24 hours
One hundred more refugees from Italy will be shared out among European Union nations next week as the bloc's quota scheme gathers pace.
The asylum-seekers could be lodged in Germany, Finland, France, Portugal or Spain as part of the EU's plan to ease pressure on front-line countries Greece and Italy. It would be the second time a relocation has taken place, after 19 Eritreans were sent from Italy to Sweden last Friday. [...]
Greek police said 3,700 people had crossed the border heading north in the last 24 hours.
EU's Tusk warns Turkey to cut refugee flow if it wants favors
BRUSSELS - European Council President Donald Tusk warned Turkey on Tuesday that it will only win concessions from the EU, such as easier travel visas, if it successfully reduces the flow of refugees reaching Europe.
In a letter to EU leaders setting the agenda for a summit he will chair in Brussels on Thursday, Tusk noted the start this month of negotiations on the migrant crisis with Turkey, which EU officials say wants more visa waivers, more EU funding and progress on its longstanding application to join the bloc.
"An agreement with Turkey makes sense if it effectively reduces the inflow of refugees," Tusk wrote on the eve of a visit by senior European Commission officials to Ankara. "Concessions will only be justified when this goal is achieved."
Tusk, a conservative former prime minister of Poland, is trying to steer the divided 28-nation Council toward consensus on proposals put forward by the executive Commission. He visited Turkey last month and hosted Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on a visit to Brussels last week during which the Commission set out various ways in which Ankara could help control migration.
Germany, France and others are reluctant to accept populous, Muslim Turkey into the EU and raise human rights concerns over Erdogan's policies toward, among others, Kurds and the media.
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