The new legislation will enable the soldiers to control the border when there are no police present.
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Further south, long lines of several hundred migrants formed near Croatia’s border with Slovenia this morning, an AFP reporter said.
Since Saturday, when Hungary sealed off its border with Croatia, more than 24,455 migrants have arrived in Slovenia, a nation of two million people.
Asked if Slovenia could build a border fence like Hungary, Mr Sefic said he could not exclude the possibility of “safeguarding border crossings with physical obstacles”.
Over the past weeks, the Balkans and Central Europe have worked to stop the flow of refugees, including many Syrians, Afghans, and Iraqis fleeing war and violence.
The European Commission said President Jean-Claude Juncker had called Sunday’s meeting because “there is a need for much greater cooperation, more extensive consultation and immediate operational action” to deal with what it called “the unfolding emergency”.
The government has pleaded for help from the European Union, saying Slovenia, with a population of two million people, is too small to cope with the flow of refugees. Ljubljana also accused neighbouring Austria of capping its intake at 2,000. “It’s been freezing, this was our busiest night this week”, said Astrid Coyne-Jensen of the Danish People’s Aid medical team.
Hungary’s decision to shut its Croatian border came at a time when record numbers of people were trying to reach Europe, with many keen to make the crossing now before conditions deteriorate as winter sets in.
It was not clear what caused the fire Wednesday at the camp in Brezice, on Slovenia’s border with Croatia, which is housing thousands of migrants, including women and children.
In total, 210,007 refugees entered Croatia from September 16, when the refugee wave diverted to the country after Hungary closed its border with Serbia.
In Slovenia, Šefic says, “Despite recent developments, we are still doing our best to increase our capacities, especially with regard to heated facilities, so that we can take proper care of the refugees and migrants entering our country until their potential departure for Austria”.
“Of course we stand ready to support any member state that is… experiencing migratory pressures”, said commission spokesman Mina Andreeva.
The plan requires most of the 28 member states to accept a share of 160,000 people from the two Mediterranean nations over two years.
Around 1,000 were waiting to cross into Croatia at the Berkasovo checkpoint after spending the night in the cold, with dozens of tents pitched along the roadside which was turned into a mudbath after hours of heavy rain.
Nearly 6,000 migrants arrived at the port of Pireaus on the Greek mainland on Wednesday on three ferry boats from the islands of Lesbos and Chios, the first point of landfall for many refugees from Syria.
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“The last person to go was a young boy without a leg, and we helped him cross in a wheelchair”, Sunjic said.
