A few 190,000 refugees are estimated to have come into Croatia since mid-September.
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Slovenia said they would be registered before continuing their journey to Austria and Germany, the preferred destination of the vast majority, many of them Syrians fleeing war.
Slovenia said it was drafting in the army to help police cope with the influx.
An AFP correspondent at the Petisovci border checkpoint said he had seen six buses cross into Slovenia.
Slovenia is on the so-called “new route” from Turkey following the closure of other Balkan entry points.
In Sweden a school that was set to hold refugees burned down Saturday in what police believe to be aggravated arson, according to the AP.
Ljungby town officials said the school in Kanna had been destroyed. The school was recently renovated to house the refugees, as it has been closed for about four years. More were expected later in the day, with a few 1,800 on board one train in Croatia that was due to stop at the Slovenian border. Slovenia’s government is scheduled to hold a meeting later in the day. A woman, a man and a 9-year-old boy are missing at sea.
“They are fleeing from war…” He added: “Don’t lose your hope, don’t despair”.
He said that the government had notified the Slovenian foreign ministry and the European Commission of its decision.
Much can and has been said about Hungary and its policies toward migrants, its inflammatory rhetoric, and populist blather, but for someone seeking refuge in Western Europe, Hungary’s de facto suspension of the European Union’s passport-free Schengen agreement doesn’t matter.
Asked what would happen if Germany was to close its doors, Croatia’s interior minister warned of a “domino effect”.
While they did not specify how much they would give Ankara, they did say the three billion euros demanded by Turkey would be a problem.
As of Saturday, refugees are no longer able to enter Hungary from Croatia, on its southern border, except at just two designated border crossings. Migrants could still apply for asylum in Hungary at two border transit zones, Szijjarto said.
Croatia responded to the move by directing refugees west to Slovenia, the Reuters news agency reported. With the change, crossing the border into Hungary is illegal and punishable under law.
Police used tear gas and water cannon to control crowds massed at its border with Serbia when that was closed last month.
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The Croatian government “has things under control”, Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic said Saturday. From Slovenia, refugees are likely to travel to Austria and then on to Germany. “There is no alternative”, she told HRT state-run television.
