Now Austria builds fence to curb flow of migrants

Vienna has blamed the Germans for inciting the flow of refugees with their offer of a welcome
Vienna has blamed the Germans for inciting the flow of refugees with their offer of a welcome
SRDJAN ZIVULOVIC/REUTERS

Germany clashed with Austria yesterday after Vienna said that it would build a border fence to curb the flow of migrants, raising the prospect of a rush to seal frontiers across central and southeastern Europe.

In the name of European unity, Berlin urged Austria not to erect a barrier along its frontier with Slovenia, which each week is crossed by thousands of people on their way to Germany.

“We do not believe that the migrant crisis that Europe is facing can be resolved with the building of fences or walls,” Steffen Seibert, a spokesman for Angela Merkel’s government, said. “We can solve it only if we as Europe take the same line, if we act together.”

Slovenia, which has been overwhelmed by the river of