European Union ministers have reaffirmed their call for countries to stand together in order to reach a solution on migration.

Ministers met in Luxembourg to discuss the state of play over migration, but more specifically a proposal for a new redistribution system for people rescued at sea.

France, Germany, Italy and Malta crafted the proposal for a new, albeit temporary, solution at a meeting last month in Malta.

In short, they want to create a 'fast-track' system to have migrants relocated throughout EU countries within four weeks of disembarking along the bloc's coasts.

After the meeting, ministers said more states are warming to the proposal.

"We have been able to expand the circle of countries that are willing to support us and support these quick relocations," said Amélie de Montchalin, France's Secretary of State for European Affairs.

"If there are upcoming boat arrivals, I believe there are about a dozen countries that are ready to get on board."

The redistribution system would represent an overhaul of current policy that most EU countries agree places an unfair burden on frontline nations, or those along the coast, to receive and process asylum claims.

Three frontliners, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Greece, presented a joint statement at the meeting to highlight their concerns about the eastern Mediterrannean migration route.

"Our purpose is to send a clear message to our partners and to the Union as a whole, that this is the most vital and vulnerable area when it comes to face the challenge of migration for Europe," said Michalis Chrisochoidis, Minister of Citizen Protection in Greece.

According to Oxfam International, the EU-supported Moria camp in Greece is designed to host 3,100 people but 13,000 are living there, an indication of the increasing pressure on that country.

Germany's interior minister, Horst Seehofer, warned of the risk of a return to the 2015 crisis if a common European asylum policy isn't adopted.

"There is a danger that uncontrolled immigration will once again take place throughout Europe. We have seen this before, and I do not want it to happen again," Horst told reporters after the talks.

However, opposition to countries accepting quotas of migrants remains fierce among some states, notably the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary.

Hungary's government said this week that the only acceptable quota is one for sending back migrants.

The EU commissioner for migration, Dimitris Avramopoulos, offered a firm reminder at Tuesday's meeting that migration, "whether we like it or not, will be one of the top issues globally."

And this is a moment for all EU states, he said, to show more responsibility and solidarity.