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Europe Needs Better Refugee Checks, Not Fences – EU Parliamentarian

© AP Photo / Boris GrdanoskiMigrants line up to board a train that would take them towards Serbia, at the railway station in the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija, on Monday, Aug. 17, 2015
Migrants line up to board a train that would take them towards Serbia, at the railway station in the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija, on Monday, Aug. 17, 2015 - Sputnik International
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The European Union needs better regulations to check whether migrants meet all the requirements to attain refugee status rather than building fences to prevent them from coming, Georg Mayer, member of the European Parliament from Austria, told Sputnik on Tuesday.

MOSCOW, (Sputnik), Anastasia Levchenko — Hungary on Saturday completed the construction of a 175-kilometer (108-mile) fence on the country’s southern border with Serbia to prevent the influx of migrants. Hungarian authorities said that the erected fence would be accompanied by a more permanent 13-foot wall currently under construction.

"First of all, we have to improve regulations to accept refugees… checking whether they really meet refugee status," Mayer said, adding that only those who comply with the standards should be allowed entry.

Building fences and walls, however, does not address the root of the problem and is "just a short solution," Mayer said.

Commenting on the causes for the current crisis, the EU lawmaker noted it is both Europe’s shortsightedness and the United States' hawkish foreign policy.

There have been signs of a brewing migration crisis in Europe, Mayer said. However, member states did not take any measures.

"But the United States also played a big role… Every crisis in the war zones [that migrants mainly come from] was caused by the engagement of the United States," he told Sputnik.

A migrant runs after crossing a fence as he attempts to access the Channel Tunnel, in Calais, northern France, Monday, Aug. 3, 2015. - Sputnik International
EU Member States Should Choose Own Migrant Policies, 'Avoid UN-Like System'
Europe is experiencing a massive migration crisis, as thousands of people attempt to cross into the bloc, fleeing violence in their home countries in the Middle East and North Africa. Instead of applying for asylum in the first EU country of entry, as prescribed by current EU regulations, many undocumented migrants attempt to travel further within the European Union to reach wealthier countries and apply for asylum there.

According to the EU border agency Frontex, over 340,000 refugees and migrants illegally crossed the European Union's external borders between January and July 2015, which is three times higher than during the same period in the previous year.

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