The Latest: Croatian police say 55,000 migrants have entered

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — The latest developments as European governments struggle to cope with the huge number of people moving across Europe. All times local:

10:40 a.m.

Croatian police say some 55,000 migrants have crossed into the country from Serbia since last Wednesday when the first groups started arriving.

Police say the numbers include people who came in by early hours on Friday, but that many more were expected to arrive overnight. Police say 8,500 people crossed into Croatia in one day on Thursday.

The UN estimates that 80 percent of the people entering Europe through the Balkans are fleeing conflict in Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq. The other 20 percent are from places including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burundi and Sub-Saharan African.

They turned to Croatia after Hungary on Sept. 15 used tear gas and water cannons to drive them away from its border with Serbia. Croatia has been shipping the migrants to its borders with Hungary and Slovenia.

The migration crisis has fueled tensions in the Balkans, with rival countries Serbia and Croatia slamming each other with border closures and traffic blockades.

___

10:10 a.m.

Hungary's government spokesman says the fence being built on the border with Croatia to stop migrants from entering is nearly finished.

Government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs said Friday on state radio that Hungary doesn't want to close the border, but wants "to protect the border of the European Union." He said the possibility of legal entry would be left open.

Hungary has also installed spools of razor wire near a border crossing with Slovenia, which like Hungary is part of the EU's Schengen zone of passport-free travel.

Kovacs said they are meant to "block direct detours" by migrants who may attempt to circumvent the fences on the Serbian and Croatian borders to reach Germany and other countries in Western Europe.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban will be in Vienna on Friday meeting with Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann and other officials to discuss the migration crisis.

Police said 8,104 migrants entered Hungary on Thursday, nearly all crossing from Croatia.