Abandoned by France, defied by eastern Europe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel cuts a lonely figure in her struggle for EU "solidarity" on the refugee crisis ahead of a Brussels summit, AFP reports.
Merkel is battling for a deal that will see refugees more evenly spread around the European Union after Germany welcomed 1.1 million asylum seekers last year.
But instead, eastern European countries are planning new razor wire fences, and even Paris - traditionally Berlin's closest EU ally - has shown little enthusiasm for Merkel's welcome policy.