The prime ministers of Balkan neighbours Bulgaria and Serbia discussed the migration crisis in Europe and its implications for the region on Thursday, the Bulgarian government’s press office announced.

Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Boyko Borisov talked over the phone with his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic in about the potential for stepping up coperation between Balkan governments in tackling the migration crisis and its consequences for  the region in a way that would be most favourable for both asylum seekers and the people of the Balkans.

Borisov and Vucic agreed to meet after the Serbian premier returns from a visit to the United States. They also agreed to invite Romania’s Prime Minister Victor Ponta to the meeting as part of traditional three-way consultations.

The announcement was made just days after the former French President Nicolas Sarkozy said that North African states willing to cooperate or countries like Serbia and Bulgaria, which are not members of the EU’s passport-free travel Schengen zone, could help address the migrant crisis by setting up detention centers on their territories.

About 40,000 migrants and refugees - most of them coming from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq - are expected to cross into Hungary from Serbia in the next few days, the BBC said.

Romania's President Klaus Iohannis said earlier on Thursday that there is no way his country will agree to the mandatory quotas for migrants proposed by the European Commission.

Romania will send its interior minister to a special meeting in Brussels on Monday to discuss the issue, Iohannis said, according to the AP.