DAVOS, Switzerland — European leaders warned Thursday that the continent’s refugee crisis is growing and if not brought under control by spring it could push the region past the breaking point.

“We see today that in the first three weeks of the year there were 35,000 people crossing the (Aegean Sea to Greece) from Turkey,” Mark Rutte, Holland’s prime minister, said. “Last year, it was only 1,600 in the full month of January. When spring comes the numbers will quadruple. We can’t cope with these numbers any longer,” he said.

Millions of migrants from the Middle East have made their way through Turkey en route to northern Europe.

Rutte said the European Union has just six to eight weeks to get a grip on the crisis, echoing similar remarks made this week by European Council President Donald Tusk.

Read the article “Europe Faces a New Tidal Wave of Refugees, EU Leaders Say” on usatoday.com.