The Netherlands will be expected to take in a further 7,000 refugees under new European Commission plans to spread refugees throughout the community.

The 7,214 extra arrivals will be on top of the 2,000 already agreed to by the Dutch government in May, the Volkskrant says.

The paper bases its report on confidential information due to be presented to member countries on Wednesday by European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker and Commission deputy chairman Frans Timmermans.

The original proposal was for a quota system to deal with refugees already in the EU based on the size of the local population, GDP and current refugee numbers.
However, eastern European countries and the Baltic states voiced concern about the numbers they would be expected to take in and agreement could not be reached.

The commission is now planning to more than halve the numbers of refugees who will be sent to the Baltic states, meaning that other countries such as the Netherlands, Germany and France will have to take in more people, the Volkskrant says.

The Netherlands’ contribution will rise from 4.5% to 6% adding a further 7,214 refugees to the number the country is expected to accept.