Juncker calls EU-Balkans mini summit on refugees for Sunday

(MADRID) - European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker has invited eight EU leaders and their Serbian and Macedonian counterparts to Brussels on Sunday to tackle the migrant crisis along the western Balkans route.

"I have decided together with others to meet in Brussels with a number of leaders of nations along the Balkan route, which has become a tragic route," he said Wednesday during a visit to Madrid.

The eight leaders from the 28-nation European Union who are invited to the mini summit are those from Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Romania and Slovenia.

Juncker's office had earlier on Wednesday announced the meeting, saying greater cooperation was needed "in view of the unfolding emergency".

An unprecedented number of people, mainly fleeing conflict in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, are travelling through Turkey, Greece and the western Balkans, seeking new lives in Germany and other EU states.

European Council President Donald Tusk, who normally has the responsibility for calling European summits, "welcomes the initiative to organise a meeting Sunday intended to tackle urgent operational issues in the region, in line with the political directions agreed at the European Council last week."

"At this stage, I cannot confirm President Tusk's participation," his spokesman said.

The continent has been struggling to find a unified response on how to tackle its biggest migration crisis since 1945.

EU leaders agreed at a summit last week to focus on border control after months of debating the sharing out of refugees from frontline states like Italy and Greece. They also agreed on a plan of action for working with Turkey, the main launching point for most refugees coming into Europe.

EU sources said a mini rather than a full summit was called because it will tackle operational issues in the Balkans.

Tensions have built along the migrant trail after Hungary shut its borders, diverting the flow west to Slovenia, which in turn has also limited arrivals, along with Croatia.

"We must find an answer to one of the EU member states confronting the biggest challenge, Slovenia, which is facing enormous problems... almost existential," said Juncker.

Since Saturday, when Hungary sealed off its borders, more than 24,455 migrants have arrived in Slovenia, a nation of two million people.

In response, the Slovenian parliament amended a law which would allow soldiers to join border police in patrolling the 670-kilometre (416-mile) frontier with Croatia.

The amendment now means troops can detain people and hand them over to the police, as well as issue orders to civilians in the border area.

Luxembourg, which holds the rotating presidency of the EU, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, and representatives of EU border agency Frontex will also take part on the summit.