He said the German government had made numerous communication errors, which has resulted in migrants “growing more and more impatient and aggressive” since Sunday.

He said it is not enough for the German embassy to publish something on its website. If its diplomats cannot go to the station to inform the migrants then the migrants themselves should go to the embassy and try to apply for a visa, he insisted.

Lázár said police would make all necessary checks related to the Schengen regulations on trains heading toward Hungary’s western border, adding that police are not tasked to commit violence but to protect the country.

The government office chief noted that earlier on Thursday railway company MÁV had suspended the operation of all international train services from Budapest to western Europe until further notice in order to ensure safety of trains. Lázár said Hungary is committed to its stance that Europe cannot give up on protecting its borders. Around “five to six countries are shouldering the burden of border protection.

” Hungary respects the fact that certain countries wish to take in refugees due to labour shortage or a “demographic crisis”, but Hungary has no need for refugees. Lázár said that if the Hungarian government were to give up on keeping to the Schengen rules, it would automatically “result in Hungary getting out of the Schengen zone”. He noted that Austria conducted checks on its border on Monday and Tuesday.

There is a stark difference in the positions of old and new EU members on the migration situation, Lázár said. He added that leaders of the Visegrad Four countries (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia) will meet for an extraordinary meeting on Friday afternoon in Prague to coordinate their actions.

Lázár said Hungary is subject to “undue, unjust and harmful discrimination” and rejected western European statements criticising Hungary for its border control measures. The German embassy told MTI it would not comment on Lazar’s remarks “at this time”.

The following message is posted on the German embassy’s website in Hungarian and English: “The Dublin Convention is applicable European legislation. This means that applicants for asylum are required to register themselves in the country through which they entered the EU border.

The asylum procedure is principally to be performed in that country”.

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MTI photo: Koszticsák Szilárd