"Discussions in Europe this week are taking on even greater urgency because it obviously cannot be a German solution to a European problem," Melissa Fleming told reporters.
The UNHCR spokeswoman added that nearly 30,000 people are currently on the Greek islands, 20,000 of whom are on the island of Lesbos and over 4,500 on neighboring Kos.
She added that the number of Syrian refugees in countries that border Syria exceeds four million, almost two million of whom are in Turkey, over 1.1 million in Lebanon and 630,000 in Jordan. A further quarter-million are thought to be in Iraq, 132,000 in Egypt and 24,055 in other North African nations.
The threefold increase in refugees arriving to the European Union has been called the greatest migrant crisis since World War II by the European Commission.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker is expected to submit another quota system proposal on Wednesday, under which EU member states would accept 160,000 migrants, including the 40,000 announced this spring.
