The European Commission said on Tuesday it could consider increasing financial assistance to Hungary to help the country tackle a growing migrant influx.

European Commission spokesperson Natasha Bertaud told a daily briefing in Brussels the EU executive body could designate Hungary as a “front line state” along with Greece, Italy and Malta in order to release the additional money, according to euronews.com.

Bertaud also said that in the 2014-2020 programming period Hungary is likely to receive over EUR 85M for managing the migration crisis but a EUR 8M emergency assistance would be added to help the country cope with the surge in the number of migrants crossing its borders.

Hungary, which lies at the southern edge of the Schengen zone, shares a borderline with non-EU members Serbia and Ukraine, which makes it attractive to migrants who want to enter the EU’s zone of passport-free travel.

“We see that the numbers of migrants arriving in Hungary from the Balkans is increasing at an astonishing rate”, Bertaud said. “Therefore it’s possible that Hungary could become a ‘front line member state’ – a country that is considered to be dealing with this problem and which needs our help.”

Hungary has already registered 100,000 migrants this year, prompting the government to build a razor-wire fence to stem the flow.

On Monday, some 2,100 people, the highest ever daily total, crossed into Hungary from Serbia near the town of Roszke, one of the few sections of the border not yet closed by the fence, AFP said.

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