(MENAFN- Saudi Press Agency) GENEVA Dhu-AlHijjah 08 1436 September 22 2015 SPA -- A European Union proposal to find spaces for 120000 refugees will not work unless reception facilities are provided for tens of thousands at any time the U.N. refugee agency said on Tuesday according to Reuters.
"A relocation programme alone at this stage in the crisis will not be enough to stabilise the situation" UNHCR spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said.
UNHCR was no longer expecting a mandatory quota of relocation spaces allocated between EU countries which it had hoped for but urged EU leaders to back the 120000 places as an emergency response on top of 40000 places for refugees who have arrived in Greece and Italy.
The new figure of 120000 represents only 20 days of the daily average of 6000 arrivals. Fleming said the UNHCR which had called for an initial 200000 places expected the EU proposal would need to be expanded in the future.
Fleming said UNHCR chief Antonio Guterres had been on the phone to "every kind of leader who has some kind of role" including EU foreign ministers and prime ministers.
UNHCR has said a meeting of justice and home affairs ministers on Tuesday and a European Council meeting on Wednesday would be "crucially important" and possibly the EU's last chance to manage the crisis.
--SPA
12:58 LOCAL TIME 09:58 GMT
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