The police tried to start returning them already yesterday, as increasing numbers of people who are "clearly economic migrants and not refugees" have been found to be entering Slovenia in the last few days.

The police explained for the STA that Slovenia was accepting people who come from countries where there are armed conflicts and for whom the rule of non-returning applies.

It is assumed that such persons will request for international protection in the EU, so they are placed in accommodation centres around the country.

However, in the last few days increasingly many people have been arriving from other countries and for whom it is assumed that they are economic migrants.

These foreigners do not even request for international protection in Slovenia, the police said.

After attempts were made informally earlier in the week to send them back to Croatia in line with the EU legislation and a bilateral agreement on returning and acceptance of irregular migrants, police have decided to make a formal announcement today.

The Croatian authorities have so far failed to respond.

A similar approach has apparently been taken also by Serbia and Macedonia. UNHCR representative for Central Europe Melita Šunjić said today that the two countries had started restricting entrance at their borders.

Since Wednesday afternoon, Serbia accepts only refugees from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, while rejecting all others as economic migrants. Macedonia is meanwhile denying entrance to refugees from countries such as Libya, Morocco, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Sudan, according to the French press agency AFP.