EU home affairs ministers gather to seek refugee relocation deal

An Afghan refugee girl laughs as she looks out of a tent in Victoria Square, where hundreds of migrants and refugees sleep rough, in central Athens, Greece, September 22, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

Theresa May, secretary of state for the Home Department and minister for women and equalities in the United Kingdom, reaffirmed that Britain would not be participating in the relocation scheme.

She said the EU must "get on with the job" of breaking the link between economic migrants making dangerous journeys and settling in the EU.

"We need to return those people who are illegal economic migrants and have no right to be here, and we need to ensure the people arriving at EU borders are properly dealt with, properly fingerprinted, so the decision can be made on whether illegal migrants can be returned," she said.

On May 27, the commission presented a first implementation package including a proposal for a Council decision to trigger an emergency relocation of 40,000 persons in clear need of international protection from Italy and Greece.

On Sept. 9, the Commission presented a second package of measures to respond to the refugee crisis, including an emergency relocation proposal for another 120,000 refugees from Greece, Hungary and Italy to other EU member states.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, together with leaders of Germany and France, has been pressing reluctant member states to support Commission proposals.

A massive influx of migrants in search of refuge in European countries has occurred in Europe in recent weeks.