EU to announce new quotas to deal with migrant crisis

PanARMENIAN.Net - European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker is due to announce plans to tackle Europe's worst migrant crisis since World War Two, BBC News reports.

Under the proposals, 120,000 asylum seekers will be distributed among EU member countries, with binding quotas.

The Hungarian authorities are now reinforcing a border fence designed to keep migrants from entering from Serbia and are toughening asylum laws.

In a separate development Australia, which has been under pressure to do more to help displaced people, has announced plans to take in 12,000 Syrian refugees.

The Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Romania have opposed the idea of mandatory quotas.

The planned EU quota system would allocate 60% of migrants now in Italy, Greece and Hungary to Germany, France and Spain, reports say, according to BBC.

The numbers distributed to each country would depend on GDP, population, unemployment rate and asylum applications already processed.

Countries refusing to take in migrants could face financial penalties.

Also planned are measures to help the economies of countries in the Middle East and Africa, and deter people-smugglers.