The European Commission has warned 19 EU member-states against failure to implement rules on handling waves of asylum seekers now flooding Europe.

European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans issued the warning as EU leaders gathered in Brussels for an emergency summit on the refugee/migrant crisis on Wednesday.

“It is about time that member states stepped up to the plate and did what they need to do,” Timmermans said, adding that a common asylum system only works when every country respects the rules.

The 28-member European Union has already established rules governing the handling of asylum seekers in Europe, but a huge influx of refugees from the Middle East and Africa over the past several months has strained it to the limit.

At present, several member-states have closed their borders or suspended crossing points to stop the influx, in a move that has violated rules of the passport-free Schengen zone.

Tusk: ‘we should ask ourselves tonight is how to regain control of our external borders’

On his part, European Council chief Donald Tusk called on member-states to put aside differences over a refugee quota deal and secure the EU borders.

“The most urgent question we should ask ourselves tonight is how to regain control of our external borders,” Tusk told the emergency summit, adding: “The conflicts in the Middle East, especially in Syria and Iraq, will not end anytime soon. This means today we’re talking about millions of potential refugees trying to reach Europe, not thousands.”

On Tuesday, interior ministers of the European Union adopted by majority a resolution to distribute some 120,000 refugees among the member states, a decision which angered several central and eastern European nations: the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania.

According to estimates by the UN refugee agency, the crisis has seen more than 477,900 people stream into Europe from the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

Tsipras, Meimarakis

Arriving in Brussels for the summit, re-elected Greek PM Alexis Tsipras called on EU partners to share burdens and responsibilities:

“A united Europe means, first of all, sharing, sharing responsibility, sharing burdens, sharing capabilities, and sharing of our common future,” he said in entering the meeting.

A press release issued by his office stated that the Greek premier will stress the relocation of refugees within the Union, while pushing for migrant re-admission protocols with countries of origin and transit countries for migrants.

Athens also wants increased funding and technical support to deal with the crisis.

Speaking also in Brussels, and before his European People’s Party (EPP) peers, conservative New Democracy leader Vangelis Meimarakis called the migration crisis a “time bomb ready to explode.”

“… Greece, Italy and other countries have a huge problem. I detailed these issues at the meeting and they were fully understood,” he briefed reporters afterwards.