Refugees wait in front of Budapestʼs Western Railway Station in August. (Photo: Jessica Fejos)

The asylum requests of more than 400,000 refugees who have entered the European Union since the beginning of the year are expected to be rejected and the migrants deported from the EU within the next few weeks, according to reports published today.

European Commission Coordinating Spokesperson Natasha Bertaud said the plan is published online in an EC communication entitled “EU action plan on return.” 

According to British online daily thetimes.co.uk, Brussels is expected to “threaten to withdraw aid, trade deals and visa arrangements if countries such as Niger and Eritrea refuse to take back their economic migrants.” The daily adds that the “proposals also envisage EU states detaining thousands of migrants to prevent them from absconding to avoid deportation.” 

Hungary alone has seen the arrival of 324,053 “illegal migrants” this year, according to data published yesterday by the Hungarian Police on police.hu. Data published by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) reveals that more than 500,000 refugees have arrived in the EU since the beginning of the year. However, the actual numbers is likely to be higher, as Germany alone recently reported that more than 470,000 refugees had arrived in the country.