European Union leaders will meet on Monday for what’s been called a “make or break” summit with calls growing to abandon a German-led plan for a continent-wide solution. CCTV’s Guy Henderson reports from Berlin.

As thousands of refugees pile up at the Greek-Macedonia border, Europe is still embroiled in a blame game. For Germany, this is the inevitable consequence of closing borders.

Berlin has emerged as Athens’s unlikely ally, arguing other countries must do more.

“Greece has an essential role to play because it’s a country that has an external border but if we’re talking about maritime borders Turkey is also concerned, that’s why the central part of the European Council on Monday will be the meeting with the Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said.

Belgium officials were in Ankara last week – which remains the lynchpin of Europe’s German-led plan. But critics worry Ankara is unreliable – its seizure of the country’s largest newspaper this week will only add to their concerns.

Indeed, a rebel bloc is strengthening – led by Germany’s ally and neighbor, Austria.

“I know that restoring effective controls on the borders is not an easy decision but the truth is that there is no alternative to it,” Austrian Chancellor Werener Faymann said.

Ironically, border closures may have taken some pressure off the German Chancellor domestically: as the number of new arrivals has slowed, Merkel’s approval ratings have actually gone up.