VELIKI OBREZ, Slovenia (Reuters) - Trucks carrying wire fencing arrived in the Slovenian village of Veliki Obrez close to the border with Croatia early on Wednesday, a day after the government said it would start erecting barriers to control the flow of migrants.

Large numbers of soldiers and police were at the scene, some guarding construction equipment, a Reuters photographer there said.

Slovenia is the smallest country on a major route for refugees and migrants heading north on their way to Austria and then Germany.

About 180,000 people, many fleeing war in Syria and Afghanistan, have entered the Alpine state since mid October, when Hungary fenced off its border with Croatia and pushed the migrant route towards it western neighbour.

Prime Minister Miro Cerar said on Tuesday the border would remain open, but the fence would help control the flow of people.

He said his country would not have the resources to shelter large numbers of migrants over the harsh winter if Austria shut its border, creating a bottleneck.

About 175 policemen from other EU states have come to Slovenia to bolster the local force, with another 100 expected in the next two weeks.

(Reporting by Antonio Bronic, writing by Marja Novak; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Andrew Heavens)

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Slovenia on Sunday began voting in a referendum on whether to allow the largely-Catholic EU member state to become Europe's first ex-communist country to allow same-sex marriage.

Polling stations opened promptly at 7:00am (0600 GMT), although hardly anyone could be seen coming to vote in the first hour, an AFP correspondent in the southwestern port city of Koper said. 

More than 1.7 million people are registered to cast their ballots on the issue which has stoked heated debate in this former Yugoslav republic.

In March, Slovenia's parliament approved legislation redefining marriage as a "union of two" instead of being a "union of a man and a woman", granting homosexual couples the same rights as their heterosexual counterparts, including the right to adopt children.

But opponents immediately launched a campaign to reverse the changes, meaning the legislation never came into force and no same-sex couples were able to tie the knot. 

A group called "Children Are At Stake" managed to gather the 40,000 signatures necessary to force a referendum on the matter. 

"I voted yes. Love is love, regardless of everything," said a 24-year-old woman called Ida. 

Another voter said he was also in favour of the changes, but argued that putting the matter to a referendum was a waste of public money.

"It should be experts or the government deciding about this. They should not leave it to us," said Vojko, a pensioner. 

"This is throwing money away. Of course I'm for it, but if it turns out to be a 'no', the world will laugh at us." 

A divisive issue

Graffiti scrawled on the wall of a church centre near the polling station gave some kind of indication of the sharp divisions over the issue. 

"Would you take a homosexual donor's blood to save your child?" it asked.

Ahead of the vote debate has been heated, and even Pope Francis has waded in, urging Slovenians to "support the family, a structural reference point for the life of society".

A final poll released by state television on Friday gave the "No" vote 55.5 percent support, with a projected turnout of 46 percent.

In order for the result to be valid, the winning side must include at least 20 percent of eligible voters. Other surveys have indicated a tighter result, however.

If the "No" vote prevails, then the civil code will be changed back, although existing legislation, which allows registered civil partnerships but not the adoption of children, will remain in force.

This is not the first such referendum on the subject, with Slovenian voters rejecting gay marriage in an earlier plebiscite in 2012, although turnout was low.

Polls close at 9:00 pm (2000 GMT), with preliminary results are expected shortly afterwards. 

Genderless marriage?

Slovenia has long been ahead of its peers, joining the EU back in 2004 -- nine years before neighbour Croatia -- and the eurozone in 2007 as its first ex-communist member, but its society retains a strong traditionalist streak.

President Borut Pahor and Prime Minister Miro Cerar's ruling Modern Centre Party (SMC) support the "Yes" camp, saying gay marriage would eliminate discrimination and grant equal rights to all citizens in the two-million-strong country.

"At this referendum we're deciding what kind of Slovenia we want to live in," Nika Kovac, a coordinator from the "Cas je Za" (It's time For a Yes) campaign group, told AFP.

"We'll decide whether we want to join the developed world."

Janez Jansa, the former centre-right prime minister from the opposition Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS), strongly disagreed.

"Erasing the gender from the marriage (definition) gives ground to human rights' violations against our most precious -- our children," Jansa said.

SEE ALSO: The world in photos this week

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The Red Bull 400 is an annual 400 meter race, but what sets it apart is that the track is at an almost vertical incline, on a Slovenian hill usually used for ski jumping. The race, which requires the use of both hands and feet, is absolutely grueling.

Story and editing by A.C. Fowler

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The Dunking Devils perform extreme basketball stunts around the world. Their latest trick involves a rope swing in Slovenia, and took years to perfect.

Written and produced by A.C. Fowler

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LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AP) — The tiny European nation of Slovenia is undergoing a tourism boom partly because it is the native country of U.S. first lady Melania Trump.

The national Statistics Bureau said Tuesday that the number of overnight stays in Slovenia by American tourists has jumped by 10 percent in 2016 when compared to 2015.

Nearly 4 million foreign tourists visited the country of 2 million in 2016, up by about 10 percent.

Slovenian tourist agencies have been organizing special tours "on the footsteps of Melania Trump" showing the places where she lived, studied and worked before she left in her 20s to pursue a modeling career.

A website promoting the Alpine nation of stunning natural beauty says: "Welcome to the homeland of the new First Lady of the United States of America!"

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Slovenia's president said Monday his invitation to host a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin still stands despite the talk of the Kremlin's meddling in the American elections.

Borut Pahor told The Associated Press that a "tradition" of first meetings between U.S. and Russian presidents in the small Alpine state shouldn't be discarded — and Slovenia is also the U.S. first lady's native land.

In June 2001, U.S. President George W. Bush and Putin had their first face-to-face meeting in Slovenia to explore the possibility of compromise on U.S. missile defense plans that Moscow opposed.

"Slovenia has officially expressed readiness ... it is ready to be the host of this meeting," said Pahor, whose country is a member of the EU but has traditional ties with Russia. "They would be welcome in fine atmosphere."

Melania Trump — born Melanija Knavs — left Slovenia in her 20s to pursue an international modeling career.

"Probably it would be attractive for the president of the United States because the first lady is from our country," Pahor said. "I wouldn't be surprised if they decide differently, it's their decision."

Putin has said Slovenia would be a good venue, but added that it's not only up to him.

Pahor said he had "briefly" discussed the issue with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence.

"He was polite, but his answer wasn't final," Pahor said.

Trump has been trailed for months by questions about his campaign's ties to Russia. Compounding the situation is the U.S. intelligence agencies' assessment that Russia interfered with the election to help Trump triumph over Hillary Clinton, along with disclosures about his aides' contacts with a Russian official.

SEE ALSO: Congress will investigate Trump's wiretap claims

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NOW WATCH: A body-language expert analyzes Trump's unique handshakes

POSTOJNA, Slovenia (Reuters) - Four surveillance rooms believed to date back to communist-era Yugoslavia and filled with dust-covered listening equipment have been discovered behind a Slovenian hotel situated next to one of the world's largest limestone caves.

The wiretapping rooms were found behind a solid steel door during renovation work at the back of the Hotel Jama and lead directly to the Postojna Cave's interior.

The spy rooms were likely built around 1969 when the hotel was under construction, according to Marjan Batagelj who heads the company managing the hotel and cave, a major tourist attraction in the Balkan state.

The absence of humidity in the rooms made them ideal locations to store sensitive equipment, Batagelj said, while the thick layers of dust suggest the rooms have laid undisturbed for years.

"Those centers were part of a wider wiretapping system operated by UDBA, the secret political police," said researcher Igor Omerza, who has published books on Slovenian history.

"They used this for surveillance of people they believed were their political opponents."

Omerza said Yugoslavia's former communist leader Josip Broz Tito used to stay at the hotel, as did foreign and local dignitaries.

Cables running from the surveillance rooms to the hotel indicate some hotel rooms had also been tapped, he said.

"I don't think Tito himself was wiretapped, they probably wouldn't dare to do that, but anything is possible. I think they primarily wiretapped guests who met with him there, foreigners," he said.

Batagelj said he might open up the rooms to tourists.

Slovenia, an Alpine state of two million people, was part of communist Yugoslavia until 1991 when it declared independence, an event followed by a brief 10-day war.

Slovenia joined the European Union in 2004 and three years later became the first former communist state to adopt the euro.

(Reporting by Gasper Lubej; writing by Marja Novak; editing by Richard Lough)

SEE ALSO: A new report says Russia is intensifying its spy game in Eastern Europe

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NOW WATCH: This 'vertical race' in Slovenia is one of the most difficult in the world

LJUBLJANA (Reuters) - The number of tourists in Slovenia rose by 8 percent year-on-year in March, boosted by the fact that new U.S. First Lady Melania Trump was born in the country.

Overnight stays in Slovenia by tourists from the United States jumped 30.6 percent while the number of domestic tourists rose by 22.5 percent, the statistics office said on Thursday.

Analysts said domestic tourist figures reflected improved economic conditions in Slovenia, a country which narrowly avoided an international bailout for its banks in 2013 but expects economic growth of 3.6 percent this year versus 2.5 percent in 2016.

The unemployment rate fell to 10.2 percent in March, down from 12 percent in the same month last year.

The statistics office also said business sentiment in May reached 9.5 points, lower than in April but 5.7 points higher than a year ago, mainly due to improved confidence among consumers and in the service sector. 

(Reporting by Marja Novak, editing by Ed Osmond)

SEE ALSO: Slovenian president: Invitations for Trump to meet Putin in Slovenia still on

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• Slovenian prime minister Miro Cerar says Brexit trade talks will not be allowed to begin as scheduled in the Autumn.
• The government wants to begin trade negotiations as soon as possible, with Brexit secretary David Davis saying they should happen at the same time as withdrawal talks.
• The European Council will decide in October if "sufficient progress" has been made in discussions so far.

LONDON — The government will not be allowed to move onto trade negotiations with the European Union in the Autumn, one of the 27 EU leaders who will make the decision has said.

Slovenia's prime minister Miro Cerar told the Guardian newspaper in an interview that not enough progress had been made to move onto discussing a trade deal, in a blow to the government, who want to begin trade talks alongside negotiations over the UK's withdrawal.

The European Council will decide in October whether to give the EU negotiating team the mandate to move onto future trade agreements, and Cerar is one of the 27 EU leaders who will vote on the matter.

The council is looking for "sufficient progress" to be made on three key issues – the Irish border, EU citizens' rights and the divorce bill before giving that mandate.

Cerar said: "I think that the process will definitely take more time than we expected at the start of the negotiations.

"There are so many difficult topics on the table, difficult issues there, that one cannot expect all those issues will be solved according to the schedule made in the first place.

"What is important now is that the three basic issues are solved in reasonable time. Then there will optimism on realistic grounds. I know this issue of finance is a tricky one. But it must also be solved, along with the rights of people."

Brexit Secretary David Davis wrote a column for the Sunday Times newspaper which pressed for wider negotiations to begin, including those on trade.

"I firmly believe the early rounds of the negotiations have already demonstrated that many questions around our withdrawal are inextricably linked to our future relationship," Davis said, arguing "both sides need to move swiftly on to discussing our future partnership, and we want that to happen after the European Council in October."

The Slovenian prime minister dashed Davis' hopes and is the first EU leader to publicly admit that progress would not be made so that the timetable could move on, which will be seen as a defeat for the government.

Cerar said the original schedule was "optimistic" and that "you cannot expect such fundamental issues to be solved in a few months."

The government released position papers on the UK's future relationship with the customs union and on the Irish border last week, in a failed attempt to force talks onwards.

There were reports on Friday that negotiations between the EU and the UK had stalled to such an extent, particularly on the issue of the divorce bill, that the next stage would not start until December, giving the UK just a year to attempt to avoid a "cliff-edge."

The government will publish a further five Brexit position papers this week, including two on confidentiality and goods on the market on Monday, and one on the UK's future relationship with the European Court of Justice.

The shadow Brexit secretary, Keir Starmer, told the Guardian: "The prime minister’s ideological obsession that there should be no role whatsoever for the ECJ or any court-like body will continue to hinder the prospect of any meaningful and lasting arrangement with the EU.

"We have already seen that this unnecessary and dogmatic position has prevented a sensible approach to issues such as Euratom and citizens’ rights. If the prime minister does not change course and show more flexibility on this central issue, it will haunt her throughout the Brexit negotiations."

Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesperson Tom Brake said: "Constant reports of cabinet spats show our government cannot even agree a position between themselves, let alone win concessions from EU negotiating teams in our country's best interests."

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NOW WATCH: Donald Tusk to UK: 'we already miss you'

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• The first bitcoin monument was unveiled on Tuesday in Kranj, Slovenia.
• The circular metal sculpture weighs three tonnes and is located on one of the street's roundabouts.
• The monument was paid for by two local firms that use blockchain technology.

The first monument to the blockchain technology that underpins crypto-currencies took center stage on Tuesday on a roundabout in Slovenia, authorities in the country's fourth largest city said.

Weighing three tonnes and with a diameter of about seven meters the circular metal sculpture was unveiled next to the courthouse in Kranj, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of the capital Ljubljana.

The design, featuring the 'B' symbol crossed by two vertical lines that represents both blockchain and the bitcoin currency, was chosen by popular demand.

"We asked citizens on our Facebook page to decide what to place in the new roundabout and this was one of the first ideas we received... Kranj has a lot of companies dealing with high technology," mayor Bostjan Trilar told Reuters.

The monument was paid for by two local firms that use blockchain technology, a software company 3fs and digital currency exchange Bitstamp.

SEE ALSO: There's a bitcoin rapper called CoinDaddy, and he's just one of the fantastic characters in San Francisco's bizarre crypto culture

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First lady Melania Trump stepped into the limelight this week to debut her anti-cyberbullying initiative, "Be Best."

Her campaign has been puzzling to some, given her husband's affinity for insulting his opponents on Twitter, and others ridiculed her for releasing an educational booklet that was virtually identical to one the Obama administration published.

But despite the criticism, the first lady is generally well-liked among the public and is far more popular than her husband, polls have found.

Though Trump is much more private than her predecessors, spending much of her time away from the spotlight, 57% of Americans say they have a favorable impression of her, according to a CNN poll released this week.

Here are incredible facts about Trump that set her apart from other first ladies.

SEE ALSO: White House slams 'opposition media' for pointing out that Melania Trump's anti-cyberbullying booklet is a recycled Obama FTC pamphlet

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She is only the second first lady in American history born outside of the United States, in Slovenia. The only other foreign-born first lady was Louisa Catherine Johnson, the wife of John Quincy Adams; she was born in England.

Source: Business Insider

Trump is also the only FLOTUS who grew up in a Communist country, back when Slovenia was part of Yugoslavia. Though money was tight for many people in the small town of Sevnica, people who knew Melanija Knavs back then say she was "always very fancy" and "never wore anything from the store."

Source: GQ

Trump is the only first lady to be her husband's third spouse. Donald Trump was previously married to Marla Maples until 1999, and, before that, Ivana Trump until 1992.

Source: Business Insider

Italian Blade 2015, the largest military rotary-wing exercise in Europe, underway at Viterbo, Italy.

More than 30 helicopters and 1000 military personnel from seven different countries are taking part in Italian Blade 2015, an exercise delivered by the Italian Army Aviation in Viterbo and supported by the EDA (European Defense Agency), about 80 km north of Rome.

Taking place from Jun. 22 June to Jul. 3, Italian Blade 2015 (IB15), the largest helicopter drills in Europe this year is the 8th rotary-wing exercise supported by the European Defence Agency under the umbrella of the Helicopter Exercise Programme (HEP) whose aim is to maximise interoperability between all assets involved and share experience by flying and co-operating in conditions similar to those found in current and future operations.

The exercise involves helicopters in a joint/combined Task Force deployed in a friendly and recent pro-democracy state for a CSO (Crisis Response Operation). The main threat is represented by opposition from insurgent forces (Illegal Armed Group): a scenario reflecting military operations other-than-war (MOOTW).

The Helicopter Aviation Regiment Orbat (Order of battle) can count of the following assets:

Austria: 4x AB212
Belgium: 4x A109
Czech Republic: 3x Mi-24
Germany: 4x UH-1D, 4x NH90, 1x CH-53
Hungary: 1x Mi-17
Italy: 4x A129, 2x CH-47, 2x Merlin, 4x NH90, 4x AB212
Slovenia: 1x AS532

Air Assault (AA), Special Operations Aviation (SOA), Combat Service Support (CSS), Close Air Support (CAS) including Urban CAS and Emergency CAS, Convoy/helicopter escorts, Reconnaissance and Security (R&S) operations, Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR), Personnel Recovery (PR), Military/Non Military extractions (NEO Ops), Medical Evacuation (MEDEVAC) and Casualty Evacuation (CASEVAC) are the types of missions flown by the Air Regiment in the assigned area of responsibility under the authority of a Regional Command.

Flying in the Hungarian Mi-17 Hip

On Jun. 25, The Aviationist had the opportunity to take part in an IB15 mission on board a Hungarian  Mi-17 Hip.

The Hungarian Air Force operates a fleet of about 10 Russian-built Mil Mi-17 and Mi-8 Hip helicopters which the service plans to replace in the near future due to the lack of spare parts. While it finds a proper replacement, the Hip is still used for a variety of combat roles at home and abroad, and it is also used to support and assist the home station training of the airmen who are designated to perform air mentor duties in Afghanistan: the Afghan Air Force (AAF) flies the Mi-17 transport helicopters and Hungary supports them with an Mi-17 Air Mentoring Team (AMT), based at Shindand, Herat Province, that provides classroom instruction and on-the-job training for the Afghan helicopter aircrews as part of the Italian–Hungarian Mi-17 Air Advisory Team.

During the IB15, the Russian chopper, from 86th Szolnok Helicopter Base, was tasked with a high altitude Personnel Recovery mission along with two Austrian AB-212s.

The area of operations was Monte Terminillo, a massif with the highest altitude of 2,217 metres, located about 100 km from Rome, where the Mi-17 performed several mountain landings.

The 1,5 hour sortie gave our photographers Giovanni Maduli and Alessandro Borsetti the opportunity to take some interesting shots of the Hip and its old-styled cockpit.

Interestingly, air conditioning in the Mi-17 is supplemented by mini-fans installed in front of the pilots.

Although it is quite obsolete, the Mi-17 remains one of the most successful and interesting choppers in service with the air arms of several countries all around the world: for instance, Syria makes an extensive use of the Hip as a gunship or transport helicopter and one of the Syrian Arab Air Force Mi-17s made the news when it was shot down by a Turkish Air Force F-16 in September 2013.

Here below is a short clip filmed during the sortie:

SEE ALSO: Highlights of the Poznan Aerofestival

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Ljubljana (AFP) - Slovenia raised 1.25 billion euros ($1.37 billon) in 10-year bonds, the first euro bond issued by a eurozone country since a bailout deal was reached with Greece, the government announced Wednesday.

The bonds, maturing in 2025, were sold on Tuesday with a 2.125-percent interest rate and at 98.883 percent of the nominal value, the finance ministry said in a statement.

"Slovenia successfully re-opened the European Sovereign primary market following a period of intense negotiations between Greece and international lenders that kept investors captive," the ministry said.

Demand for Slovenian sovereign bonds reached 2.6 billion euros, it added.

This was Slovenia's second bond issue after it raised in March 1.0 billion euros in 20-year bonds with a 1.553-percent yield, the lowest ever for Slovenia.

Slovenia, a former Yugoslav state that joined the eurozone in 2007, saw its economy starting to recover last year after narrowly avoiding a bailout in 2013. 

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Placing areas under environmental protection helps in the fight against climate change, but it also shelters ecosystems, improves food security, acts as a natural barrier against disaster, serves as a genetic bank for biodiversity and scientific research, and plays an important role in society and culture.

A 2014 report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Protected Planet, revealed that 15.4% of the world’s terrestrial areas and 3.4% of oceans now enjoy legal protection.

The UN Global Goals for Sustainable Development, which were launched in September 2015, aim to increase that number by conserving at least 10% of coastal and marine areas by 2020, and by enforcing international obligations regarding the protection of land such as forests, wetlands, mountains and drylands.

The latest World Bank data below shows the combined percentage of protected terrestrial and marine areas per economy in 2012. (Countries under 1,000 square kilometres are not included.)

Mountainous Slovenia protects more than half of its territory (54.9%), which equates to an area of nearly 11,130km².

Venezuela, in second place, is one of the most ecologically diverse countries in the world, but has suffered severe environmental degradation. The country has made great strides in protecting its natural environment through environmental regulation, and leads the way in Latin America.

Germany, which recently announced it would be transforming 62 former military bases into wildlife sanctuaries, comes third.

Three sub-Saharan African nations – Namibia (fifth), Zambia (sixth) and Botswana (ninth) – have taken steps to preserve their natural heritage, which has both protected local cultures and wildlife, and paid dividends through their safari-tourism markets.

Other European micro-states, Liechtenstein (fourth) and Luxembourg (seventh), also feature in the top 10. Although almost all of Monaco’s territory (98.4%) is protected, it is not included in the ranking because the tiny state is only 2.2km².

Hong Kong SAR, China (sixth), which has engaged in extensive green policies pioneered by its environmental protection department, is the only region in Asia to be featured.

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LJUBLJANA (Reuters) - Slovenia's parliament is expected to approve changes to its laws later on Tuesday to enable the army to help police guard the border, as thousands of migrants flooded into the country from Croatia after Hungary sealed off its border.

The government had proposed amendments to its Law on Defense overnight, after 8,000 migrants crossed in Slovenian territory on Monday. Only 2,000 of them passed into Austria.

"This is not about enforcing an extraordinary condition, it is about strengthening control on the border," Prime Minister Miro Cerar told the national radio Radio Slovenia.

The government has not given details of the proposed changes to the law, but issued a statement stressing Slovenia's lack of capacity to deal with the influx and calling on fellow EU countries to help.

"Slovenia is the smallest country on the Balkan migration route and has therefore limited possibilities of border control and accommodating migrants," the government said.

"Therefore Slovenia publicly calls upon the (EU) member states and the European institutions to actively engage in taking over this burden."

Slovenia, with two million citizens, borders Croatia, Hungary, Austria and Italy.

The government said the country will do everything in its power to control the migration route and ensure normal functioning of the state but added:

"It is an illusion to expect that a country of two million people will stop and solve what larger members were unable to."

On Monday, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) said that more than 10,000 migrants were stranded in Serbia, which borders Croatia, while many more were on their way there.

(Reporting By Marja Novak; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

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New aerial footage offers new insight into the European migrant crisis.

Migrants and refugees have been setting up camp at Slovenia's border with Croatia, where a fire burned down tents and filled the area with heavy smoke.

Produced by Lamar Salter

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VIENNA (AP) — Austria, a strong critic of building of fences to keep out migrants, announced plans Wednesday to erect barriers along parts of its own border, but insisted the move was meant solely to bring order into the flow of people entering the country.

Slovenia, the main migrant entry point into Austria, also said it was ready to build a fence, threatening to set off a chain reaction from other countries along the land route used by those seeking a better life in prosperous EU nations.

Germany, the country of choice of many of the people fleeing regions torn by war and hardship, moved as well to reduce the migrant load.

Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere announced that, while Syrian citizens are mostly accepted, many of the Afghans pouring into the country will likely be sent back to their homeland.

In Austria, Interior Minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner told parliament that construction of "technical barriers" would begin after about 10 days of planning but gave no exact date for the start of work on the project.

In separate comments to state broadcaster ORF, she spoke of the need for a "fence" to maintain public order. Defense Minister Gerald Klug said containers or railings could be set up to "be able to control the refugees in an orderly way."

Mikl-Leitner insisted that there were no plans "to build a fence around Austria." Still the project is likely to run into domestic and international criticism for the signal it sends to other nations struggling to cope with the migrant influx and because of associations with the razor-wire fence Hungary has built to keep migrants out — a move Austria strongly criticized.

Since the Hungarians sealed their borders a few weeks ago, thousands of migrants using the western Balkans route into Austria and beyond have been flowing into Croatia and then Slovenia daily.

Insisting that their small nation cannot cope with the influx, Slovenian officials suggested even before Austria's announcement Thursday that they too, are considering a fence, in their case on the border with Croatia.

Slovenian Prime Minister Miro Cerar firmed up those plans Wednesday, saying "if necessary, we are ready to put up the fence immediately," if a weekend plan by EU and Balkan leaders fails to stem the migrant surge.

In opposing fencing off border areas, Austria has invoked the principle of free movement within the EU's internal borders.

At the same time, its attempts to cope with the migrant influx have been complicated by recent moves by Germany — the country of choice of many migrants — to slow their entry from Austria

Mikl-Leitner acknowledged a possible effect on migrants in Slovenia if Austria builds barriers — a situation she said Austria already is struggling to deal with "because Germany is taking too few."

SEE ALSO: 'Everybody is scared': The European migrant crisis is about to face an unstoppable problem

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NOW WATCH: Here's how the migrant crisis is spreading through Europe and the Middle East