Germany and partners consider 'transit zones' for refugees

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her coalition partners have agreed some areas on how to deal with the refugee crisis but need more talks on other points following a meeting, a government spokesman said.

The spokesman said these included the idea of introducing so-called 'transit zones' at border crossings to process refugees' asylum requests.

Merkel, the leader of her conservatives' Bavarian sister party, and Social Democrat (SPD) chief Sigmar Gabriel are set to meet again on Thursday, as spokesman said.

An extra 100,000 migrants and refugees will be taken in to welcome centres in a bit to ease the crisis, after a deal agreed by European and Balkan state leaders during an emergency summit.

The deal will see Greece open reception centres with enough room for 30,000 migrants by the end of the year, while the United Nations' refugee agency, UNHCR, will provide 20,000.

A further 50,000 spaces will be added in reception centres in Balkan countries, through which thousands of migrants have travelled in a bid to reach countries in northern Europe including Germany and Scandanavia.

An extra 400 police officers will also be dispatched to Slovenia within a week to help the country cope with the huge number of migrants crossing its borders.

Speaking after the summit, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said countries had to stop "waving [migrants] through".

European Union and Balkan leaders are to hold emergency talks later today after three countries threatened to close their borders in northern EU states stop accepting refugees and migrants.

The meeting, called by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, will include the leaders of 10 EU countries including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, plus the leaders of Albania, Serbia and Macedonia.

Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia on Saturday warned they would not allow themselves to become a "buffer zone" for the tens of thousands of arrivals streaming into Europe.

"All three countries... are ready if Germany and Austria and other countries close their borders (...), we will be ready to also close our borders at that very same moment," Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov said after talks between the three Balkan leaders in Sofia.

Serbia has been swamped by refugees and migrants making their way from Greece and Macedonia to northern Europe, though Bulgaria and Romania have been much less affected.

Slovenia will ask the European Union to send police back-up to help it cope with the thousands of migrants and refugees coming into the country.

Around 19,500 have entered Slovenia since Friday after Hungary sealed its southern border with Croatia.

Speaking after a meeting with European Council President Donald Tusk and EU chief executive Jean-Claude Juncker, President Borut Pahor said:

The country has deployed 140 soldiers to the border to assist police and hasn't ruled out building a fence as part of its efforts to control the influx of migrants.

Croatia has opened its border with Serbia to migrants, letting in thousands who have been stranded in the ran and mud for nearly two days.

UNHCR spokeswoman Melita Sunjic, who is on the Serbia-Croatia border, said that "without any announcement, the borders opened. When the borders opened, everybody rushed" over.

"The last person to go was a young boy without a leg, and we helped him cross in a wheelchair," Ms Sunjic said.

The humanitarian crisis has been growing since Saturday, when Hungary closed its border with Croatia, creating a backlog of migrants in the region.

More than a thousand refugees remained stranded in the border area between Croatia and Slovenia on Monday as neither state allowed them into their country.

Croatian police set up barriers at the border to prevent migrants and refugees from re-entering their country, while Slovenia closed its border on Sunday, refusing to take any more people into the country.

Angered by the lack of response from either side, the crowds chanted "help us" and "we are dying" as they sheltered from heavy rainfall in a small roofed area at the border crossing.

Hundreds of migrants and refugees, including women and small children, have been left waiting in the mud and rain on the border between the two countries, some for more than 12 hours.