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Austria begins plans to erect fence along Hungarian border

Meanwhile, George Soros, the Hungarian billionaire venture capitalist, announced he intends to invest 500 million USD in aiding migrants and refugees

Austria has begun plans to erect a fence along the border with Hungary to refuse entry to migrants, it has been reported by several news outlets today.

Foundations have already been layed along the border line which has been used as a crossing by hundreds of thousands of migrants during the refugee crisis, Reuters confirms.

The fence will be finalized should Austria decide to adopt tough measures enabling it to quickly turn away migrants hoping to claim asylum as they arrive at the border, i24news.tv reports.

Austria, which saw 90,000 people claim asylum last year, the second highest per capita in the EU, says that there are several thousand migrants that Hungary should take back.

The Austrian defense ministry says around 150 migrants arrive in Austria every day from Hungary — where most of them are registered — having traveled from Greece through Macedonia, Bulgaria and Serbia.

Currently Austria is not sending any back to Hungary following a court decision last September that prevented an Afghan family being returned because of “inhumane conditions” in Hungary.

Hungary was criticized for reinforcing security along its southern border, an external border of the EU's Schengen Area and for making illegal border crossing a criminal offence punishable by jail.

Meanwhile, George Soros, the infamous Hungarian billionaire venture capitalist, announced he intends to invest 500 million USD in aiding migrants and refugees.

Soros made the pledge in an opinion piece published in the Wall Street Journal.

The move comes in response to "Call to Action," an initiative put forth by the administration of US President Barack Obama asking US companies to help ease the migrant crisis.

One of the world's richest men according to Forbes magazine, Soros added he plans to work closely with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Rescue Committee to guide his investments.

Read more here.