(MENAFN- QNA) EU ministers on Thursday discussed setting voluntary refugee quotas in the bloc in order to relieve member states faced with a record influx of arrivals, due in part to unrest in Syria, Gaza and the Horn of Africa.
Many of the travellers attempt to cross the Mediterranean in rickety boats. A record of more than 139,200 landed in Italy between the beginning of 2014 and last week, dpa reported.
But 75 per cent of refugees overall are taken in by just five countries - Germany, Sweden, France, Britain and Italy - according to EU Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom.
"That is not in order," said German Interior Minister Thomas De Maiziere, ahead of Thursday's talks in Luxembourg. He expressed hope that his counterparts would agree to introduce voluntary resettlement quotas.
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