Migrants stranded on Greek highways as borders close and buses are halted

Groups of frustrated migrants, including families with small children, walked along north-bound Greek highways Thursday hoping to reach Macedonia after authorities stopped their buses to ease a bottleneck on the practically blocked border.

It was yet another sign of Europe’s failure to address its worst immigration crisis since the end of World War II. As some 2,000 migrants per day cross illegally into Greece on their way to a better life in the continent’s wealthier north, restrictions imposed by Austria and Balkan nations have left thousands trapped in the financially broken country — which has seen nearly a million arrivals since January 2015.

The Greek government underlined its annoyance Thursday by recalling its ambassador to Austria for consultations — “in order to safeguard friendly relations” between the two states, said Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias.

Greece does not detain people entering the country illegally if they are from Syria, Iraq and several other countries whose citizens are considered eligible for asylum.

Many of the migrants walking along highways gave up after a few kilometers and were moved on by police to the next stopping point on the route north — usually a gas-station parking lot. Others managed to find taxis to the Idomeni border crossing, where about 2,800 people were waiting, some for up to four days.

But Macedonian authorities only allowed about 100 people to enter on Thursday.