Spielfeld, Austria - Thousands of refugees and migrants made their way toward the German border on Monday after enduring days of hostility and obstacles from Central European nations struggling with the human tide.

Wealthy Germany has been a beacon for many of the men, women and children fleeing the conflict in Syria, after it threw open its doors last month at the same time that other European countries were sealing themselves off from asylum seekers.

Most of the more than 20,000 people who entered Austria over the weekend were expected to try to enter Germany, which itself is starting to show strains.

Up to 1 million asylum seekers are expected in Germany this year alone. Austria, too, has been pushing back, angry that asylum seekers are passing through poor but safe countries and pushing onward to richer ones.

"We made it!" Ghaith, a 28-year-old communications engineer from Syria, said with a smile as he crossed from Hungary to Austria. Ghaith, who has spent more than two weeks on the road from Damascus, gave only his first name in fear of possible reprisals against relatives left behind.

"What we see here has nothing to do with seeking refuge and safety," Austrian Interior Minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner told reporters in Vienna on Monday. "It is nothing but opportunism."

Croatian authorities set up a new transit camp Monday for refugees and migrants crossing from Serbia, a measure of the ongoing pressure created by Hungary's sealing its border last week.

Until Monday, the arrivals had been sleeping in abandoned buildings near the train station at Tovarnik, the first town over the border in Croatia. But the situation there became chaotic and the weather has taken a turn for worse in recent days, with rain and a sharp drop in the temperature.

The government has now set up a camp with military-style tents and cots at Opatovac, about six miles from Tovarnik, with a capacity for 4,000 people. All the arrivals are being registered at the camp and are being given food and medical attention. The U.N. refugee agency was assisting, and Red Cross volunteers were arriving to help.

About 2,500 people were brought into the camp Monday, and 500 were put on onward buses, said Croatian Interior Minister Ranko Ostojic, who was at the camp.

The idea is for the refugees and migrants to spend a maximum of 36 hours in the transit center before being moved on, he said.

"Really?" asked Mohammed, a student from Damascus, who was sitting in the grass with his friends, upon learning that he would soon be heading north. A smile spread across his face.

Ostojic, who will take part in an emergency meeting of E.U. interior ministers in Brussels on Tuesday, said he was angry about Croatia's situation.

"It's not that the Croatian government doesn't want to keep them here. The truth is that they don't want to stay here," he told reporters outside the temporary camp.

Ostojic called for strengthened borders in Greece, where migrants and refugees have been streaming into Europe from Turkey.

Croatian authorities said Monday that more than 29,000 people entered their country after Hungary sealed its borders and started turning away refugees and migrants early last week. Most were moving quickly onward toward Western Europe.

The Hungarian government, meanwhile, took out an advertisement in the Monday edition of Lebanon's An-Nahar newspaper, warning that tough action awaits people who try to enter Hungary illegally.

In a flurry of diplomacy, European nations will attempt this week to ease the crisis by distributing asylum seekers within Europe, bolstering border controls at Europe's edges and stepping up aid for refugee camps closer to Syria.

On Tuesday, E.U. interior ministers will discuss a proposal to allocate 120,000 new arrivals. E.U. leaders will then meet on Wednesday to discuss a broader strategic response to the crisis.

On Monday, German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière announced that the nation's ruling coalition has agreed on a series of emergency measures to respond to the mounting refugee crisis.

In one notable retreat, he said the government has effectively backtracked on a proposal to get tougher on asylum seekers who apply for protection in Germany after entering and transiting through other E.U. countries.

Under E.U. law, Germany has the right to send them back, and a draft law circulating last week said such refugees would receive only food and a ticket home rather than temporary housing and benefits.

But de Maizière said the language has been changed so that Germany would withdraw benefits only after an initial ruling on an individual's asylum claim and that it would take effect only if an applicant was officially rejected.

The government managed to tighten some measures, including reducing cash benefits for refugees and offering them more in-kind assistance, such as food and clothing. The new legislation would also make it easier to create new housing for refugees by loosening construction regulations, he said.

"Europe and Germany can't take everyone coming to us from war zones or fleeing poverty," de Maizière told Der Spiegel magazine.

Expanding Monday on a plan he outlined this weekend in an interview with Der Spiegel, de Maizière called for a per-nation refugee quota among E.U. nations, above which asylum seekers would be turned back.

He said refugees brought to Europe directly from the crisis-hit zones should fill "generous" quotas. After the quotas were filled, he said refugees should be rescued but then removed from Europe and sent instead to off-continent safety zones. Over the weekend, he told Der Spiegel that such safe zones should be set up in Africa.

His plan, however, appeared to divide the German government. Chancellor Angela Merkel has previously declared "no limit" on Germany's capacity to take in asylum seekers. Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel on Sunday criticized the plan, saying it appeared to be "the opposite" of Merkel's stated position.

In the Austrian border village of Spielfeld, meanwhile, asylum seekers arrived on foot from Slovenia on Sunday without showing papers. After resting a few hours at an aid station - where local volunteers offered food, drink and new sneakers - the bedraggled travelers continued walking to the train station.

Austria last week warned that it had reached its limit - with 20,000 beds in shelters filled - but appeared to relax border controls. The wave of asylum seekers crossing into eastern Austria will be at Germany's door by Monday afternoon.

The International Organization for Migration said last week that about 474,000 people have arrived in Europe this year, making often-treacherous journeys in dinghies across the Mediterranean Sea from Turkey to Greece, then making their way onward. The vast majority want to reach Germany.

They are now racing against time, trying to make the journey across the Mediterranean before winter weather sets in.