European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has called an extraordinary meeting in Brussels on October 25 to tackle the migrant crisis in the western Balkans.
Juncker's office said on October 21 that the leaders of Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Romania, and Slovenia will meet their counterparts from non-EU states Macedonia and Serbia.
The meeting comes as tens of thousands of migrants aiming to reach Western Europe are stranded on the roads of western Balkan countries after Hungary sealed its border with Serbia and Croatia.
Hungary's move prompted the migrants – mostly fleeing conflicts in Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq -- to switch to a route via Slovenia, which in turn has limited arrivals, along with Croatia.
UN officials coordinating efforts to help the migrants in the Balkans warned there was no sign the influx of migrants was slowing down, as many had expected with the approach of winter.
