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DERMOT MURNAGHAN: Now then, more than 10,000 people have reportedly flooded into Austria this morning as the migration crisis continues in Europe and Hungary and Croatia are at loggerheads over how to deal with the volume of migrants trying to cross their borders.  Well the Hungarian government spokesperson Zoltan Kovacs, joins me now on the phone.  A very good morning to you, sir.  Tell me, do you maintain the analysis from the Hungarian point of view that Croatia is involved, is an international participant in people smuggling?  

ZOLTAN KOVACS: Well I am afraid that is the case.  We heard the words of the Prime Minister, the Croatian Prime Minister, yesterday and he told us and the international media that they are forcing migrants on us. This is obviously an indication that Croatia basically, organised by state authorities, is participating in carrying these migrants to the Hungarian border.  We are trying to maintain discipline and we are trying to fulfil European protocols so at least we can register these people but amongst these circumstances and obviously in this mood it is increasingly difficult.  

DM: But as you say, to maintain order you have sent in some of the army and many of these people are fleeing military action.  Doesn’t that seem to be an overreaction?  

ZOLTAN KOVACS: Well we are trying to restore law and order on the borders and obviously as we’ve seen at the border with Serbia, the military is providing support from the background and honestly this is just a clear indication that there are limits to our disorder.  Re-establishing border control with a European member state obviously is different but that’s what we see, Croatia basically let down not only Hungary but the European Union.  

DM: Is the border with Croatia sealed, about to be sealed in a similar way as that with Serbia?    

ZOLTAN KOVACS: If what we see on the ground is going to continue we have no other choice but to build a fence on the border with Croatia as well.   

DM: And any migrants that do get through, are you taking them or allowing them to go straight through Hungary if possible on to other countries?   

ZOLTAN KOVACS: That’s not the case, as I told you in the first couple of sentences we are trying to follow European protocol, that is registration and the real problem is that there is non-compliance on their behalf so we have reassigned places along, not far actually from the Austrian border but we are able to provide shelter, medical assistance what is required but increasingly these people are not co-operating, they basically leave on the spot the moment they get off the train, trains and buses we are trying to take them back.  

DM: Well that is the nature of people trying to escape what they’re trying to escape from so….

ZOLTAN KOVACS: But the real problem, sorry to interrupt you, is that they don’t escape anything, definitely they don’t have to escape anything in Croatia and most definitely not in Hungary.  Keep in mind the very nature of what they are facing here is different.  

DM: Well that’s the point I wanted to make, do you blame in essence the Germans, do you blame Angela Merkel for making it very clear that if you are escaping the war, the conflict in Syria, you are welcome?

ZOLTAN KOVACS: It would be the best interests of those actually who are escaping war to be differentiated from those who are coming only in hopes of a better life and this is at the moment impossible.  This is no time for blaming, it is down to border controls, that is law and order in the European Union that we are saying at the moment.

DM: And would you attitude, the Hungarian attitude, do you think it would be different if so many of these people were not Muslim?  

ZOLTAN KOVACS: It doesn’t have to do anything with religion, it is completely a different matter.   

DM: Mr Kovacs, thank you very much indeed.  Zoltan Kovacs there, spokesperson for the Hungarian government.