Central Europeans need to do more to help refugees, UN agency says

A dinghy overcrowded with Syrian refugees drifts in the Aegean sea between Turkey and Greece after its motor broke down off the Greek island of Kos, August 11, 2015. REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis

PRAGUE (Reuters) - The United Nations agency for refugees called on central European countries to overcome public opposition and give more help to refugees from war-torn regions.

The UNHCR made its plea on Thursday, before a summit of the Visegrad group - Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia -opens in Prague on Monday. The group opposes European Union efforts to distribute asylum seekers across the EU and instead wants to emphasise securing the EU's external borders.