EU to Approve Migrant Quota by 'Qualified Majority' - Source

The Council of the European Union is likely to reach a decision on the refugee relocation quota by a "qualified majority" where the bigger EU member states carry more votes, a diplomatic source said Tuesday.

BRUSSELS (Sputnik) – "The decision is likely to be approved by a qualified majority," the source told RIA Novosti in the Belgian capital of Brussels.

European interior ministers failed to agree on the relocation of 120,000 refugees throughout the bloc’s 28 members on an equitable basis at an extraordinary meeting late on Monday.

The ministers agreed to redistribute the 40,000 refugees currently in Greece and Italy, as proposed by Brussels under the first emergency package in May.

A final decision is now expected at another justice and home affairs council meeting on October 8 in Luxembourg.

Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic have so far expressed their intent to reject the new migrant quota.

President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker said earlier this month that nearly half a million migrants and asylum seekers are estimated to have entered Europe since the beginning of the year in what is termed the greatest refugee crisis since World War II.