Hungary wants to get ready for a possible surge in migration in the coming months by building a razor-wire fence along its border with Romania.

“Migration will restart in the spring, possibly putting pressure on our borders. We have to prepare for that and for the building of a fence on the border with Romania,” said Janos Lazar, head of the Hungarian prime minister’s office, cited by The Wall Street Journal.

Hungary has already blocked its borders with Serbia and Croatia last year, by building fences to stop the migrants to transit the country on their way to Northern Europe.

In 2015, hundreds of thousands of refugees have transited Hungary on their way to Austria before the country blocked its border with Serbia. Soon after, the migrants started taking alternative routes, crossing Croatia and Slovenia.

“The year 2016 will be a hard one for illegal migration. We are under pressure and the country’s security is under threat,” Janos Lazar said.

It’s not the first time Hungary mentions the plan of building a fence at its Romanian border. The country first made this announcement last year, which led to a tense diplomatic situation between the two neighboring countries.

A group of 60 migrants tried to enter Romania illegally in January this year.  However, the Romanian authorities have recently decided to expel 12 of them.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com