Austria has threatened to reinstate border checks if Germany resorts to turning away migrants at its southern frontier, as EU leaders prepare to gather in Brussels on Sunday for a "mini summit" to address the spiralling migration crisis.

Sebastian Kurz, the Austrian chancellor, said he "would be ready and do everything necessary to protect our borders" if Germany's hardline interior minister Horst Seehofer pushed ahead with the plan.

"That would mean securing the border on the Brenner [Pass] and other locations...[but] I want to help ensure it doesn't get that far," he added.

It came as Austrian officials hinted at plans for an EU-Albania migrant centre deal that could help Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, cling on to power.

Mrs Merkel will lead the informal talks in Brussels ahead of a full EU summit this week where migration will again top the agenda.

The so-called Visegrad Four group - Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic - announced they would boycott the summit last week, and experts fear a breakthrough is unlikely even though Mrs Merkel's political survival may depend on it.

Mr Seehofer has told Mrs Merkel he will close the southern border to migrants if she fails to find another solution by the end of the month.