U.N. welcomes Europe's refugee plan, says EU must respect right to asylum

By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations welcomed a European Union proposal on Friday to take 160,000 refugees and called for large-scale reception centres to be set up immediately in Greece, Italy and Hungary, on the front lines of a huge influx of people. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) also welcomed an offer by Washington to take 10,000 Syrian refugees but said "the United States could and should do much more". The UNHCR is sending pre-fabricated housing units to provide temporary overnight shelter for 300 families in Hungary, a country that is building a fence along its southern border with Serbia to stem the flow of people trekking north, many aiming for Germany. Spokesman William Spindler said the UNHCR was "closely following" Hungary's use of the army to control the situation. "Obviously we expect authorities to respect rights of refugees whether they are the police or army," he said. That was part of a wider warning to the EU to uphold national and international law in managing its borders, including by ensuring people are able to seek asylum from war and persecution. The UNHCR reiterated that the EU would need to relocate 200,000 people from the frontline European countries such as Greece and Italy by the end of 2016, more than the 160,000 mentioned in the EU plan. "Our initial estimates indicate even higher needs, but the focus must now be on ensuring that all (EU) member states take part in this initiative, and that it is swiftly implemented," Spindler said. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Wednesday the EU would offer better protection for refugees but would also improve its frontier defences and deport more illegal migrants. More than 380,000 refugees, about half of them Syrians fleeing civil war, have crossed the Mediterranean so far this year, a figure "expected to continue rising rapidly over the coming weeks and months", the UNHCR said. Afghans, Eritreans, Nigerians and Somalis compose the other four largest groups of nationalities in the human tide seeking European shores, Spindler said. "They will not be deterred by barbed wire or even taking dangerous sea voyages. The answer is to provide adequate legal avenues for people to come to Europe in safety," he said. (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)