Migrants are helped to safety from a wooden-hulled ship

European powerhouses France and Germany on Monday called on the EU to revise its plan to admit asylum seekers landing in Europe, saying there was insufficient "balance".

"Deep discussions are necessary at the European level" to achieve a balance between "responsability" and "solidarity", said a joint statement from the French and German interior ministers, who said countries' "efforts already undertaken" in welcoming asylum-seekers should be "better taken into account".