EU's Juncker urges governments to accept refugee quota plan

National governments must accept binding quotas to relocate asylum seekers if they are to tackle the EU’s refugee crisis, European Commission chief Jean Claude-Juncker said on Wednesday.

Speaking at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Jean-Claude Juncker urged EU countries to take their fair share of an additional 120,000 people.



The fresh proposal comes after the EU executive called on governments to relocate 40,000 people from Italy and Greece back in May.

But leaders failed to agree on a mandatory system, signing up only to resettle some 32,000 people on a voluntary basis.

“It’s 160,000 refugees in total that Europeans have to take into their arms and I really hope that this time everyone will be on board – no rhetoric,” Juncker told lawmakers.

But a compulsory quota system might be difficult to accept for some countries.

A strong populist sentiment in a number of EU member states means some leaders will be forced to tread carefully or risk facing the wrath of th