GETTY Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, and migrants crossing into Slovenian

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The programme aimed to fly 160,000 migrants using a charter jet from Greece and Italy to new homes across Europe, a figure critics say was far too ambitious. The programme was proposed by Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, whose reputation has taken a battering throughout the migrant crisis. This is reflected by the fact that only 3,827 reception places have been offered up by EU countries for migrants, a figure over 156,000 shy of the necessary total.

GETTY Migrants arriving by boat to the Greek island of Kos

Several countries, including Austria, Estonia and Slovenia, have effectively boycotted the scheme by refusing to volunteer any places. One source said: "It is as if there is a burst pipe in the building, and instead of fixing it Juncker orders all the neighbours to take some of the water into their own houses."

GETTY Migrants crossing from Hungary into Austria

The scheme will be discussed at the upcoming European Council summit in Brussels, which sources claiming that one solution may be to force migrants to take part in the programme. Many migrants currently decline to register for the scheme, preferring to make their own way to Britain, Germany or Sweden, rather than risk the pot luck of being placed in a poorer state.

GETTY Migrants at the Greek island of Kos

One source said: "People are refusing to go to Luxembourg so I can only imagine the difficulty of getting them to go to Latvia." Mr Juncker's team, however, argue that it is the member states who are at fault, by either not offering enough spaces or not being thorough enough with the registration system, upon which the scheme depends.

GETTY Migrants crossing into Slovenia

Some charities working with migrants are even being blamed, for allegedly advising them to avoid certain Greek islands when entering Europe, so as to slip under the radar of the registration system and make their own way to their preferred destination.

It was doomed from the start British MEP Timothy Kirkhope

The prevailing viewpoint within Brussels, however, is that Mr Juncker is to blame. British MEP Timothy Kirkhope said: "We always warned that a system with obligatory quota would never work, that it would have to be voluntary. "It was doomed from the start."

Migrant March to the 'Promised Land' Mon, October 26, 2015 Thousands of migrants march towards central and northern Europe after crossing from Croatia. Play slideshow AP 1 of 20 Thousands of migrants can be seen moving through fields after crossing from Croatian borders