The first group of what are expected
to be some 10,000 migrants have been greeted in Munich after an arduous
journey through Hungary and Austria.
German members of the public applauded and offered sweets as some 450 migrants arrived on a special train service.
The plight of the migrants has highlighted the EU's struggle to deal with a surge of asylum seekers
Earlier this week there were chaotic scenes in Budapest as Hungary blocked them from travelling onwards. Five things behind the migrant crisis What is the UK doing to help?
Many
migrants refused to be taken to camps in Hungary to register for
asylum, insisting they wanted to travel on to Germany and Austria.
Crowds broke through security lines and began walking 175km (108 miles) to the border, many with small children.
Media captionDrone footage filmed on Friday and Saturday shows the number of migrants prepared to walk to Austria
Under
mounting pressure, Hungary opened its border with Austria, which
expects to have received some 10,000 people by the end of Saturday.
Austria
has said it will not limit the number of migrants crossing its borders,
with an interior ministry spokesperson telling the BBC on Saturday that
that the nation was dealing with an influx of people from "crisis
regions" who were "desperate".
Chancellor Angela Merkel has said
Germany can cope with an influx of newcomers, without raising taxes or
jeopardising its budget.
But her spokesman says Germany's decision
to open its borders to the asylum seekers was an exceptional case - for
humanitarian reasons - and the "Dublin rules" that require people to
apply for asylum in the first EU country they reach had not been
suspended. Image copyrightReuters
From the BBC's Nick Thorpe on the Austro-Hungarian border
The
people kept coming - some from Budapest on local trains, others from
other refugee camps. As they reached the border, their pace quickened,
no matter how tired they were. There have been so many delays, so many
fears on their journey.
As darkness fell at Hegyeshalom, still the
crowds kept coming. Some still in t-shirts, despite the sudden autumnal
cold. Others wrapped in blankets. For days, they looked defiant, but
defeated. Today, they were triumphant. Tired migrants finally cross into Austria Image copyrightGetty ImagesImage caption
Angela Merkel says her country has the capacity deal with the new arrivals
There is little sign of a co-ordinated EU response
to the crisis, despite more than 350,000 migrants having crossed the
EU's borders in 2015 alone.
Europe's migrant crisis is "here to
stay" and nations must act together to deal with it effectively, the
EU's foreign policy chief said after "difficult" talks with foreign
ministers in Luxembourg.
"In three months time, it will be other
member states under the focus, and in six months, it could be others
again," Federica Mogherini said. What can the EU do about the crisis? Germany, backed by the European Commission, has been
pushing for a quota system for dividing the people reaching Europe
between member states. But this has been opposed by several eastern
members.
On Saturday, Hungary said that while it had temporarily
relaxed restrictions on the transit of asylum seekers, it was pressing
ahead with plans to tighten border controls and could send troops to its
southern frontier if parliament agreed. Hungary PM Viktor Orban: Antagonising Europe since 2010
However Ms Mogherini said she was still optimistic that there would be progress.
"I
do have hope - I always have hope - but I have to admit that the
discussion also today was a difficult one... No-one can have the
illusion today that there is one single member state that is not
concerned by this crisis.
"We are all together in this, and the
sooner we realise we have to take urgent decisions together - the
better, and the [more] effective they will be."
Media captionLocal people handed out packed lunches for those walking to the border
Image copyrightReutersImage caption
In Hungary, buses picked up hundreds waiting on the main road to Austria
Image copyrightEPAImage caption
After crossing the Austrian border, migrants were taken to Vienna
At the scene: Matthew Price, BBC News
Our correspondent has been walking with hundreds of migrants travelling on foot to Austria.
Are you among those trying to reach Austria? Have you been involved in these events? Email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk with your experience.
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways:
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