Slovenia, Serbia and Croatia shut down “Balkan route”

Concerned about “becoming a reception centre for refugees,” Serbia said it would align its policy by closing the border with Macedonia and Bulgaria to refugees and other migrants without valid EU visas.
Slovenia and neighbouring Croatia will from Wednesday refuse allow the transit of most refugees through their territory in a bid to seal off the Balkan route used by hundreds of thousands of people seeking a new life in Europe.

The move could set off a domino effect among Balkan states, with Serbia indicating it would follow Ljubljana’s lead and Macedonia apparently set to so the same.

The attempt to shut down the main route used by refugees fleeing war and persecution outside Europe’s borders comes barely a day after the EU and Turkey agreed on a proposal aimed at easing the crisis.
EU officials hailed Monday’s deal with Ankara as an important breakthrough, but the head of theUN refugee agency cast doubt on its legality, while Amnesty International said the plan “dealt a death blow to the right to seek asylum”.

Slovenia’s interior ministry said late on Tuesday that from midnight (2300 GMT), access would only be granted to “foreigners meeting the requirements to enter the country”, those wishing to claim asylum, and refugees selected “on a case by case basis on humanitarian grounds and in accordance with the rules of the Schengen zone”.
Fellow EU member Croatia, which is not part of the passport-free Schengen zone, said it would follow Slovenia’s lead and refuse transit to most refugees as of midnight.
Croatia, which had already limited the number allowed to enter, would now only allow in refugees with proper visas.