Austria and Balkan nations have agreed on measures to restrict numbers drawing criticism from Greece, where thousands of migrants have been left stranded after Macedonia blocked entry to Afghans.
EU Ministers are meeting in Brussels later amid warnings that the migrant crisis could threaten the bloc’s survival.
The EU Interior Ministers would hear plans drawn up by Austria and eight Balkan countries that include fingerprinting all entrants and turning back anyone without a passport or holding fake documents.
The countries have also pledged to accept only those they deem to be in need of protection, which has already been interpreted by some government officials as meaning only Syrians and Iraqis.
Last September, EU Ministers agreed plans to relocate 120,000 migrants from Italy, Greece and Hungary to other EU countries.
But majority vote decision was opposed by Romania, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary.
On Wednesday, Hungary announced it would hold a referendum on accepting mandatory EU migrant quotas.
Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, stressed that the quotas “could redraw Europe’s cultural and religious identity.”
