FREE now and never miss the top politics stories again. SUBSCRIBE Invalid email Sign up fornow and never miss the top politics stories again. We will use your email address only for sending you newsletters. Please see our Privacy Notice for details of your data protection rights.

The CZECH Republic has refused to take any of the 450 migrants that Italy rescued from an overcrowded migrant boat from the Mediterranean on Saturday, and branded Rome’s shared responsibility plan as “a road to hell”. Italy refused to accept all 450 migrants to its shores after the rescue, in the EU’s first test of its new migrant policy, which sees members share the burden of migrant numbers. The EU made the new policy last month after Italy’s new hardline government refused to accept charity migrant rescue boat Aquarius to dock in its ports. Nearby Malta also refused, and the stranded vessel was forced to make a four day journey to Valencia in Spain. Although Germany, France and Malta all said they would take in 50 migrants each rescued from the Libyan ship, the Czech Republic – part of the notorious Visegrad Four rebellion group comprised of Eastern European member states – would not accept any of the 450 migrants.

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis tweeted his country would not accept them, damning Rome’s contingency plan as a “road to hell”. He tweeted: "I received a copy of the letter from Prime Minister Contes, together with the other EU premieres, to the President of the European Council, Tusk and the European Commission Juncker, where the Italian Prime Minister is asking the EU to take care of the 450 people currently on the seas. Such an approach is the road to hell. It only motivates smugglers and increases their income. Our countries will not accept any migrants. At the European Council, we have applied the principle of volunteering for relocation, and we will stick to it." Continuing, he tweeted: "The only solution to the migration crisis is the Australian model, not to allow the landing of migrants in Europe and the return of the ships from which they emerge. We must send a clear signal that illegal migration has ended and that the European Union is ready to return illegal migrants immediately.

Czech Prime Minister branded Italy's new migrant plan as "a road to hell" and is refusing migrants

"We must help migrants in the countries from where they come, outside the borders of Europe, so that they can not go on their journey at all. There is no solution to accepting people, on the contrary it increases the problem that we have in Europe." On Sunday, a German government spokeswoman said: "Germany and Italy have agreed that, in view of the ongoing talks on closer bilateral cooperation on asylum, Germany is ready to accept 50 people in this case.” Malta said it was ready to host 50 asylum seekers after rejecting mounted pressure from Rome to open its borders. But, before other EU members agreed to accept some of the migrants, Italy's right wing Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, who is leading a high-profile campaign to ban humanitarian rescue ships from Italian ports, said on Saturday that the migrants could be sent back to Libya.

This year more than 58,000 migrants have arrived in Italy and 1,569 have died Thu, June 29, 2017 An estimated 230,000 refugees and migrants will arrive in Italy this year as numbers of refugees and migrants attempting the dangerous central mediterranean crossing from Libya to Italy continues to rise since the same time last year Play slideshow Getty Images 1 of 11 Refugees and migrants wait in a small rubber boat to be rescued off Lampedusa, Italy

But under international law, refugees cannot be returned to a place where their lives are in danger. Both the United Nations and EU have ruled that Libya is not safe. He reiterated his stance that boats should be stopped and turned back and that migrants should be helped in their countries instead of being let into the European Union. The news follows France and Malta each pledging to take 50 migrants each after two ships - one operated by EU border agency Frontex and a vessel owned by Italy's tax police - picked up the migrants on Saturday near the Italian island of Linosa, more than 100 nautical miles of Malta. Outspoken anti-establishment politician and Italy’s new Prime Minister, Guiseppe Conte, sent letters to each head of the EU’s 27 member states, pleading with them to share responsibility.

Matteo Salvini has hailed Italy's shared EU Migrant plan as the key to the resulting crisis