Balkan nations shut migrant trail, thousands stranded

The main migrant trail from Greece to northern Europe was blocked Wednesday after western Balkan nations slammed shut their borders, hiking pressure for an EU-Turkey deal and exacerbating a dire situation on the Macedonian border.

Slovenia and Croatia, two of the countries along the route used by hundreds of thousands of people in recent months, barred entry to transiting migrants from midnight. Serbia indicated it would follow suit.

EU member Slovenia said that the only exceptions were for people wishing to claim asylum in the country or for migrants “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”.

Croatia’s interior minister Vlaho Orepic called it a “new phase in resolving the migrant crisis”.

The measures follow Austria’s decision in February to cap the number of migrants passing through its territory, which has led to a gradual tightening of borders through the western Balkans.

“This is putting into effect what is correct, and that is the end of the ‘waving through’ (of migrants) which attracted so many migrants last year and was the wrong approach,” Austrian foreign minister Sebastian Kurz said.

Meanwhile, Turkey’s foreign minister on Wednesday rejected the idea Ankara was “begging” the EU for money, after it dramatically doubled its demand for funding during crunch talks on Europe's migrant crisis.

The European Union and Turkey clinched a deal in November for $3.3 billion in funds for refugees in return for Ankara's cooperation in tackling the refugee crisis.

But at talks in Brussels on Monday, Turkey stunned EU leaders by asking for an extra three billion euros in aid, along with visa-free travel to the bloc for Turkish citizens.

Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Wednesday defended the decision to ask for more money.