The Dutch government says it supports a European Commission proposal to relocate 40,000 immigrants from Mediterranean states but that all EU countries must take part.

The cabinet said in a statement that it ‘welcomes’ the Commision’s efforts to better manage the stream of migrants in crisis situations.

However, a ‘good balance’ needs to be found between solidarity between the member states at times of need on the one hand and keeping agreements which have been made on the other, the government statement said.

‘The cabinet supports the European Commission’s call on all member states to take part in the relocation programme,’ the statement said.

The Commission’s proposals involve dividing up the refugees between EU member states based on the size of their populations and GDP. This would require the Netherlands to accept 2,047 refugees.

The cabinet says that it would like to see ‘more weight’ being given to current asylum seeker numbers in a country and the efforts which host countries are already making.

This is being interpreted in the Dutch press as a sign that the Dutch government considers it is already doing more than some countries.