Pro-migrant rallies in Europe as Hungary says EU 'dreaming'

Tens of thousands of Europeans rallied Saturday urging solidarity with the huge numbers of refugees entering the continent, as Hungary's populist premier said leaders were "in a dream world" about the dangers posed by the influx. In London, one of dozens of events planned across Europe, tens of thousands of people marched brandishing placards reading "Open the Borders", an AFP journalist said, while in Copenhagen some 30,000 took to the streets, according to police.
Other demos were planned in Germany, Spain, France and elsewhere. But highlighting how the arrival of hundreds of thousands of migrants is dividing the EU, several counter-demonstrations were also scheduled in eastern members of the bloc. "It's time to speak out against the deadly borders that have been enacted in our name. People all over Europe are organising resistance and solidarity in their towns and cities," organisers of the "#EuropeSaysWelcome" initiative said on social media.
"We want to let all the refugees know: You are welcome!"
At the London protest, a boy dressed as Paddington Bear had a sign saying: "Paddington Bear Was A Refugee". A little girl held up a drawing of two hands clasped together with the words: "Help Syria, I'll be your friend". The International Organisation for Migration said Friday that more than 430,000 people have crossed the Mediterranean to Europe this year, with 2,748 dying or going missing in packed and unseaworthy boats operated by often unscrupulous human traffickers. The influx has exposed deep rifts with the European Union, with "frontline" states Italy, Greece and Hungary struggling to cope and European Commission proposals for sharing 160,000 of the new arrivals in a quota scheme facing resistance among eastern members.
Germany has absorbed the lion's share so far, taking in 450,000 people with the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel - hailed as a heroine by many migrants but under fire at home, even from allies - relaxing asylum rules for Syrians. On Friday Germany's foreign minister, saying the crisis could be the biggest in the EU's history, failed in Prague to convince counterparts from eastern Europe to sign up to the Brussels scheme, which both Berlin and the UN say doesn't go far enough. Hungary, meanwhile, has seen some 175,000 people travel up from Greece across its borders this year. Its plans to build a large fence, deploy the army and jail illegal immigrants have earned it stiff criticism, stoked by images of migrants in packed camps.