An EU plan to distribute rescued migrants throughout Europe has faltered as France and Spain object.
French president Hollande said the quota system proposed “makes no sense” and there was “no question” of implementing it.
Spain said its unemployment rate of nearly 24% prohibited it from helping. "Pledging to take in migrants to whom you cannot provide work would be, in my opinion, providing a bad service," the foreign minister said.
The European Commission had called for a set number of refugees to be granted asylum in Europe in the coming years with each EU nation accepting a share based on factors such as population, GDP, unemployment, and asylum history.
France appeared initially to be in favour of the plan, but Mr Hollande later rejected it, saying he wanted a fairer distribution within the EU but that quotas were not acceptable.
“The right to asylum does not correspond to a quota”, he said, adding that it would “make no sense”.
The UK had already been quick to oppose the measure, saying it would only encourage people traffickers.
Italy, which has been the recipient of hundreds of thousands of refugees, was crestfallen when the proposal was compromised.
“It would be very bitter if there was a U-turn in that availability to share and turn the problem from an Italian into a European problem,” said Italian foreign minister Paolo Gentiloni.
“There is no turning back at this point otherwise Europe would not be living up to its own standards,” he added.
Mr Hollande did, however, appeal for greater help for refugees. They, he said, are taken in by the “same countries – Germany, and to a lesser extent, France and Sweden” and other states should accept a share.
The Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia have also opposed the quota system.
