Refugees are streaming into Slovenia, diverted overnight by the closure of Hungary’s border with Croatia, in the latest demonstration of Europe’s disjointed response to the flow of people reaching its borders.
Hungary’s rightwing government declared its southern frontier with Croatia off-limits to arriving migrants, blocking entry with a metal fence and razor-wire just as it did a month ago on its border with Serbia.
Croatia began directing people west to Slovenia, which said 300 had arrived and would be registered before continuing their journey to Austria and Germany, the preferred destination of the vast majority, many of them Syrians fleeing war.
But their movement has slowed, with dozens of buses lined up at Serbia’s border with Croatia as police controlled their entry. Slovenia suspended rail traffic with Croatia.
Aid agencies are concerned about backlogs of refugees building in the Balkans as temperatures drop before winter.
Hungary said it had reinstated border controls on its frontier with Slovenia, effectively suspending Europe’s Schengen system of passport-free travel. Both Slovenia and Hungary are part of the Schengen area while Croatia is not.
A government spokesman said Budapest had taken the step because “migrants appeared” on the Slovenian side of the border.
Slovenia says it can accommodate up to 8,000 migrants per day. Both Ljubljana and Zagreb say they will not restrict the flow as long as Austria and Germany keep their doors open.
Hungary has in turn said it is duty-bound to secure the borders of the European Union from mainly Muslim refugees who it claims threaten the prosperity, security and “Christian values” of Europe.
Budapest is among several ex-communist members of the EU that oppose an EU plan to share out 120,000 refugees among its members. That is only a small proportion of the 700,000 migrants expected to reach Europe’s shores by boat and dinghy from north Africa and Turkey this year.
At a summit in Brussels on Thursday, the EU offered Turkey a possible €3bn (£2,2bn) in aid and the prospect of easier access to travel visas and “re-energised” talks on joining the bloc if it would help stem the flow of migrants across its territory.
But Hungary said this fell short of its demands, which include formation of a common force to protect the borders of Greece, where most migrants arrive across the Aegean Sea from Turkey before heading north through Macedonia and Serbia.
Asked what would happen if Germany was to close its doors, Croatia’s interior minister warned of a “domino effect”. “It will be a lot of trouble for all countries and I cannot predict what will happen in this situation,” Ranko Ostojić told reporters at a migrant camp in the eastern Croatian village of Opatovac. “They are risking their lives and nobody is able to stop this flow ... without shooting.”
