Hungary's prime minister has said eastern European nations are forced to protect themselves from the "brutal threat" of mass migration until the EU organises a united response to the refugee crisis.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government has built a fence to keep out refugees on the Serbian border and is rapidly constructing a similar 3.5-metre-high steel fence on the Croatian border.
The Council of Europe has summoned Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban over the country's new legislation on refugees.
"I have written to Prime Minister (Viktor) Orban to get an explanation of the new laws and the practices they have installed," Council of Europe Secretary-General Thorbjorn Jagland told Reuters in an interview.
He added: "Hungary has an obligation to protect those who have a need for protection. You cannot close a border entirely. It is a huge step backwards for Europe that they are now closing the borders.
"The EU is the best peace project we have had in Europe. If countries start to close borders there is real danger to the internal market, it may be a real danger to the Euro. It will increase nationalism and all the bad things that come from that."
International development secretary announces extra resources to help identify and prioritise the most vulnerable refugees from camps.
Thousands of refugees and migrants have been trapped in a cruel tug-of-war overnight as European nations squabble over what to do with them.
Croatians have been warning refugees and migrants who are attempting to cross the country's border to be aware of minefields in the area.