BRUSSELS—EU interior ministers were set to meet in Brussels Thursday to discuss the migrant crisis after western Balkan nations slammed shut their borders, exacerbating a dire humanitarian situation on the Macedonian frontier.
The scheduled two-day meeting will tackle various areas, including a proposed deal with Turkey and the restoration of the visa-free Schengen zone, along with plans for a European border and coastguard system seen as a key step for securing the bloc’s frontiers.
The talks come after Slovenia and Croatia, two of the countries along the Balkan route used by hundreds of thousands of people in recent months, barred entry to transiting migrants from midnight Wednesday and Serbia indicated it would follow suit.
EU member Slovenia said it would make exceptions only for migrants wishing to claim asylum in the country or for those seeking entry “on humanitarian grounds and in accordance with the rules of the Schengen zone”.
Prime Minister Miro Cerar said the move meant that “the [Balkan] route for illegal migrations no longer exists”, while EU President Donald Tusk said on Twitter, “Irregular flows of migrants along Western Balkans route have come to an end”.
“Not a question of unilateral actions but common EU28 decision… I thank Western Balkan countries for implementing part of EU’s comprehensive strategy to deal with migration crisis,” Tusk added.
As the 28-nation EU battles the worst migration crisis since World War II, the fresh measures ramped up the pressure on the bloc to seal a proposed deal with Turkey to ease the chaos.
A controversial deal discussed with Turkey at an EU summit on Monday and due to be finalized on March 17-18 would see the country take back all illegal migrants landing in Greece.
Ankara proposed an arrangement under which the EU would resettle one Syrian refugee from camps in Turkey in exchange for every Syrian that Turkey takes from Greece, in a bid to reduce the incentive for people to board boats for Europe.
In return though, Turkey wants six billion euros ($6.6 billion) in aid, visa-free access to Europe’s passport-free Schengen zone and a speeding up of Ankara’s efforts to join the EU—demands that go too far for some.