An Afghan refugee jumps the fence as he tries to enter Macedonia at the Greek-Macedonia borderline near the northern Greek village of Idomeni, Monday, Feb. 22, 2016. Greece's government warned Monday it expected a growing number of stranded migrants and asylum seekers after neighbor Macedonia further restricted border access at the weekend. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)
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IDOMENI, Greece (AP) - Greece's government said Monday that it expects a growing number of stranded refugees and other migrants because the European Union is failing to deal with unilateral actions and an "outburst of scare-mongering" by individual member states.
Macedonia further restricted at the border with Greece over the weekend, sparking protests by Afghan nationals at a border crossing.
Macedonia imposed the restrictions at the weekend after Austria put a cap on transit and asylum applications.
The action - blocking Afghans from crossing the border and generally restricting access - left thousands of migrants stranded in Greece, at the border and at the port of Piraeus, near Athens, where regular private services to the border were suspended.
"Once again the European Union voted for something, it reached an agreement, and a number of countries who are lacking the culture of the European Union - including Austria, unfortunately - violated this deal 10 hours after it was reached," Ioannis Mouzalas, a deputy minister for migration, told state-run ERT television.
"The European Union cannot act in a united way to this outburst of scare-mongering from various countries. And that is creating problems, and these problems also involve our country."
Macedonian officials said Monday they restricted the entrance of Afghan migrants from Greece following similar action from Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia, who in recent days have returned to Macedonia more than 600 Afghans deemed to be economic migrants.
Macedonia's ombudsman Ixhet Memeti told private TV Telma that about 1,500 more are expected to be deported to Macedonia soon from countries further north on the Balkan corridor, which migrants follow to reach wealthier European countries.
A senior Macedonian foreign ministry official said Croatian authorities discovered several Afghans who posed as war refugees had actually lived and worked for some time in Greece, and took advantage of the wave of migration to seek asylum further north. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the press.
Nearly 100,000 migrants and refugees have traveled to the Greek islands from nearby Turkey so far this year. The coast guard said 4,427 migrants and refugees arrived in Piraeus from the eastern Aegean islands Monday. The large number of arrivals on the mainland was due to better weather after several stormy days forced the suspension of ferry services from the islands.
Police said about 2,000 people were stranded at in camps near the Greek border town of Idomeni, including some 600 Afghans who staged a peaceful protest, holding up Afghan flags and hand-written banners.
Later, hundreds broke through a Greek police cordon and crowded at the border fence, trying to climb it or cut through the wire netting. At least four men made it over, and were promptly arrested by police on the Macedonian side.
Among the protesting Afghans was 25-year-old Shafiulahh Qaberi who traveled to Greece from the northern Afghan city of Kunduz.
"We've been here for three days, and no one knows why they have closed the border," he told the AP. "I don't need food and I don't need water. What I need is to get over the border. Why are they stopping us?"
Freight train service between Greece and Macedonia was also suspended after protesters blocked the railway line on the Greek side.
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Konstantin Testorides in Skopje contributed to this story.
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Exhausted Afghan refugees rest as they hold a placard demanding the opening the border of Macedonia at the Greek-Macedonian borderline near the northern Greek village of Idomeni, Monday, Feb. 22, 2016. Greece's government warned Monday it expected a growing number of stranded migrants and asylum seekers after neighbor Macedonia further restricted border access at the weekend. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)
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An Afghan refugee passes under a fence as he tries to enter Macedonia at the Greek-Macedonia borderline near the northern Greek village of Idomeni, Monday, Feb. 22, 2016. Greece's government warned Monday it expected a growing number of stranded migrants and asylum seekers after neighbor Macedonia further restricted border access at the weekend. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)
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Refugees from Afghanistan sit beside railway tracks near a transit center for refugees at the Macedonian-Serbian border in the northern Macedonian village of Tabanovce, Monday, Feb. 22, 2016. More than 600 Afghan refugees were stranded since Saturday at the transit center while waiting for a permission to cross the border into Serbia. Serbia says the decision to block refugees from Afghanistan from passing through the so-called Balkan migrant corridor has been made by Austria and Slovenia. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)
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Afghans stand in a queue to receive food at a transit center for refugees at the Macedonian-Serbian border near the northern Macedonian village of Tabanovce, Monday, Feb. 22, 2016. More than 600 Afghan refugees were stranded since Saturday at the transit center while waiting for a permission to cross the border into Serbia. Serbia says the decision to block refugees from Afghanistan from passing through the so-called Balkan migrant corridor has been made by Austria and Slovenia. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)
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The shadows of a couple is seen on a bus as other Refugees and Migrants wait inside after reaching the Athens' port of Piraeus by ferry from the Greek islands, Monday, Feb. 22, 2016. Several thousand migrants have been stranded at the port and at the country's border with Macedonia, where authorities at the weekend closed the border to Afghan migrants and reduced rate for crossings for Iraqis and Syrians. Regular private bus services from Piraeus to the Greek-Macedonian border were suspended Monday following the weekend action. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
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An Afghan child sleeps on the pavement after his arrival along with hundreds of others refugees and migrants at the port of Piraeus near Athens, on Monday, Feb. 22, 2016. Several thousand migrants have been stranded at the port and at the country's border with Macedonia, where authorities at the weekend closed the border to Afghan migrants and reduced rate for crossings for Iraqis and Syrians. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
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A Syrian woman kisses her child inside a custom building after their arrival along with hundreds of others at the port of Piraeus near Athens, on Monday, Feb. 22, 2016. Several thousand migrants have been stranded at the port and at the country's border with Macedonia, where authorities at the weekend closed the border to Afghan migrants and reduced rate for crossings for Iraqis and Syrians. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
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A woman holds his child as she passes next to members of the Frontex, European Border Protection Agency, at refugee camp at the Greek-Macedonian border in the northern Greek village of Idomeni, Monday, Feb. 22, 2016. Macedonia closed its border to Afghan migrants early Sunday, Greek police said, slowing the admission of refugees to a trickle and leaving a growing bottleneck of people stuck at their shared border. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)
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Refugees and migrants wait inside a custom building after their arrival along with hundreds of others at the port of Piraeus near Athens, on Monday, Feb. 22, 2016. Several thousand migrants have been stranded at the port and at the country's border with Macedonia, where authorities at the weekend closed the border to Afghan migrants and reduced rate for crossings for Iraqis and Syrians. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
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Migrants and refugees disembark from a ferry after their arrival along with hundreds of others at the port of Piraeus near Athens, on Monday, Feb. 22, 2016. Several thousand migrants have been stranded at the port and at the country's border with Macedonia, where authorities at the weekend closed the border to Afghan migrants and reduced rate for crossings for Iraqis and Syrians. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
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An Afghan migrant holds his child after their arrival along with hundreds of others at the port of Piraeus near Athens, on Monday, Feb. 22, 2016. Several thousand migrants have been stranded at the port and at the country's border with Macedonia, where authorities at the weekend closed the border to Afghan migrants and reduced rate for crossings for Iraqis and Syrians. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
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Refugees and migrants sit at a refugee camp at the Greek-Macedonian border near the northern Greek village of Idomeni, Monday, Feb. 22, 2016. Macedonia closed its border to Afghan migrants early Sunday, Greek police said, slowing the admission of refugees to a trickle and leaving a growing bottleneck of people stuck at their shared border. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)
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An Iraqi woman is helped by volunteers as she arrives with other refugees and migrants from the Turkish coast to the northeastern Greek island of Lesbos, Monday, Feb. 22, 2016. European Union countries have sought to cap the influx of refugees after more than one million people entered in 2015. Nations along the entry route have agreed to jointly control the flow of migrants through their territories. (AP Photo/Manu Brabo)
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An Iraqi woman cries after her arrival with other refugees and migrants on a dinghy from the Turkish coast to the northeastern island of Lesbos, Greece Monday, Feb. 22, 2016. European Union countries have sought to cap the influx of refugees after more than one million people entered in 2015. Nations along the entry route have agreed to jointly control the flow of migrants through their territories. (AP Photo/Manu Brabo)
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A Czech policewoman, who is supporting the Macedonia authorities, tries to secure a door as Afghan refugees push it at the Greek-Macedonia borderline near the northern Greek village of Idomeni, Monday, Feb. 22, 2016. Greece's government warned Monday it expected a growing number of stranded migrants and asylum seekers after neighbor Macedonia further restricted border access at the weekend. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)
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Afghan refugees sit on the railway tracks, which links Greece with Macedonia, behind the fence, as they protest at the Greek-Macedonian borderline near the northern Greek village of Idomeni, Monday, Feb. 22, 2016. Greece's government warned Monday it expected a growing number of stranded migrants and asylum seekers after neighbor Macedonia further restricted border access at the weekend. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)
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Afghan refugees shout slogans as they protest at the Greek-Macedonian borderline near the northern Greek village of Idomeni, Monday, Feb. 22, 2016. Greece's government warned Monday it expected a growing number of stranded migrants and asylum seekers after neighbor Macedonia further restricted border access at the weekend. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)
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