The EU’s plan to resettle up to 160,000 refugees from Italy and Greece throughout member states is failing amid waning political will to help those risking their lives to reach Europe.

Dimitris Avramopoulos, the European Commissioner for migration, said some countries have failed to relocate a single person “in breach of their obligations” as legal action is considered.

“Relocation is vital to the success of our migration and asylum policies based on solidarity and responsibility,” he told the European Parliament on Tuesday.

“This is why it is so essential that relocation works in all its aspects, and is implemented by everyone.

“For this, one element remains critical for the success of the scheme: the political will and the mutual cooperation and trust between member states.”

Mr Avramopoulos argued that the scheme benefits the entire EU and “integrity” of the Schengen area, calling for fresh efforts to move all eligible asylum seekers.

Refugee crisis - in pictures Show all 27 1 /27 Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugee crisis - in pictures A child looks through the fence at the Moria detention camp for migrants and refugees at the island of Lesbos on May 24, 2016. AFP/Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures Ahmad Zarour, 32, from Syria, reacts after his rescue by MOAS (Migrant Offshore Aid Station) while attempting to reach the Greek island of Agathonisi, Dodecanese, southeastern Agean Sea Refugee crisis - in pictures Syrian migrants holding life vests gather onto a pebble beach in the Yesil liman district of Canakkale, northwestern Turkey, after being stopped by Turkish police in their attempt to reach the Greek island of Lesbos on 29 January 2016. Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees flash the 'V for victory' sign during a demonstration as they block the Greek-Macedonian border Refugee crisis - in pictures Migrants have been braving sub zero temperatures as they cross the border from Macedonia into Serbia. Refugee crisis - in pictures A sinking boat is seen behind a Turkish gendarme off the coast of Canakkale's Bademli district on January 30, 2016. At least 33 migrants drowned on January 30 when their boat sank in the Aegean Sea while trying to cross from Turkey to Greece. Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures A general view of a shelter for migrants inside a hangar of the former Tempelhof airport in Berlin, Germany Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees protest behind a fence against restrictions limiting passage at the Greek-Macedonian border, near Gevgelija. Since last week, Macedonia has restricted passage to northern Europe to only Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans who are considered war refugees. All other nationalities are deemed economic migrants and told to turn back. Macedonia has finished building a fence on its frontier with Greece becoming the latest country in Europe to build a border barrier aimed at checking the flow of refugees Refugee crisis - in pictures A father and his child wait after being caught by Turkish gendarme on 27 January 2016 at Canakkale's Kucukkuyu district Refugee crisis - in pictures Migrants make hand signals as they arrive into the southern Spanish port of Malaga on 27 January, 2016 after an inflatable boat carrying 55 Africans, seven of them women and six chidren, was rescued by the Spanish coast guard off the Spanish coast. Refugee crisis - in pictures A refugee holds two children as dozens arrive on an overcrowded boat on the Greek island of Lesbos Refugee crisis - in pictures A child, covered by emergency blankets, reacts as she arrives, with other refugees and migrants, on the Greek island of Lesbos, At least five migrants including three children, died after four boats sank between Turkey and Greece, as rescue workers searched the sea for dozens more, the Greek coastguard said Refugee crisis - in pictures Migrants wait under outside the Moria registration camp on the Lesbos. Over 400,000 people have landed on Greek islands from neighbouring Turkey since the beginning of the year Refugee crisis - in pictures The bodies of Christian refugees are buried separately from Muslim refugees at the Agios Panteleimonas cemetery in Mytilene, Lesbos Refugee crisis - in pictures Macedonian police officers control a crowd of refugees as they prepare to enter a camp after crossing the Greek border into Macedonia near Gevgelija Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures A refugee tries to force the entry to a camp as Macedonian police officers control a crowd after crossing the Greek border into Macedonia near Gevgelija Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees are seen aboard a Turkish fishing boat as they arrive on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing a part of the Aegean Sea from the Turkish coast to Lesbos Reuters Refugee crisis - in pictures An elderly woman sings a lullaby to baby on a beach after arriving with other refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures A man collapses as refugees make land from an overloaded rubber dinghy after crossing the Aegean see from Turkey, at the island of Lesbos EPA Refugee crisis - in pictures A girl reacts as refugees arrive by boat on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees make a show of hands as they queue after crossing the Greek border into Macedonia near Gevgelija Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures People help a wheelchair user board a train with others, heading towards Serbia, at the transit camp for refugees near the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija AP Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees board a train, after crossing the Greek-Macedonian border, near Gevgelija. Macedonia is a key transit country in the Balkans migration route into the EU, with thousands of asylum seekers - many of them from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia - entering the country every day Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures An aerial picture shows the "New Jungle" refugee camp where some 3,500 people live while they attempt to enter Britain, near the port of Calais, northern France Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures A Syrian girl reacts as she helped by a volunteer upon her arrival from Turkey on the Greek island of Lesbos, after having crossed the Aegean Sea EPA Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees arrive by boat on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures Beds ready for use for migrants and refugees are prepared at a processing center on January 27, 2016 in Passau, Germany. The flow of migrants arriving in Passau has dropped to between 500 and 1,000 per day, down significantly from last November, when in the same region up to 6,000 migrants were arriving daily.

“This cannot be the responsibility of just a few member states – this must be shared be all,” he added.

“It cannot be that while the majority of member states are making real efforts in a real European spirit, others continue to show no solidarity.”

While more than 18,400 migrants have so far been taken from overwhelmed camps, 12,500 people in Greece and 4,000 in Italy remain stranded despite being found eligible for transfer under UN guidelines.

In September 2015, EU states committed to relocating up to 160,000 refugees from the two countries within two years, later revising the figure down to 98,000 after finding that fewer people than expected were eligible.

The total is on track to hit less than 40,000 by its deadline in September.

Asylum seekers trapped in squalid camps have killed themselves amid increasing desperation, as charities warn of attempted suicide, rape, sexual abuse and prostitution in Greece.

Refugees in Greece: “Every day you die many times”

Hungary and Poland voted against the resettlement quotas, while they and Austria remain the only EU countries not to have relocated a single refugee, “in breach of their legal obligations” and commitments.

The UK chose not to take part in the EU’s quotas while carrying out its own resettlement schemes mainly targeting camps surrounding Syria.

The EU called on Italy to ensure all refugees eligible for relocation are properly registered, amid record arrivals over the Mediterranean Sea from Libya – a journey that has killed a record 1,300 people so far this year.

The European Commission will decide next month on any “infringement” cases against countries failing to resettle asylum seekers under the agreed scheme.

As well as Poland and Hungary, officials have singled out the Czech Republic, saying it has not been active for a year, while Austria has now pledged to take in people from Italy.

The ongoing crisis has increasingly pitted rising populists and right-wing governments against the EU, with Denmark vowing on Tuesday to defy a directive to lift temporary border restrictions within six months unless the EU “miraculously” stops irregular migration.

The European Commission previously announced member states should be able to send asylum seekers back to Greece from March (AP)

More than 1.6 million asylum seekers have arrived in Europe since the start of the refugee crisis in 2014.

While crossings to Greece have plummeted since the controversial EU-Turkey deal, the number of migrants arriving in Italy has continued to rise, seeing almost 13,000 people disembark last month alone.

The Italian government delivered four patrol boats to the Libyan government on Monday to bolster its capacity to combat people smuggling, despite allegations of widespread torture and human rights abuses.

EU states have backed an agreement drawn up by Italy to spend millions of euros helping the fragile Libyan Government of National Accord upgrade its capability with equipment and training.

Italian interior minister Marco Minniti said the boats would be followed by another six vessels in the coming weeks “to contribute to the security of the central Mediterranean, with a capacity to intervene against human traffickers and with preventative action against terrorism”.

Even centres nominally controlled by the government hold migrants captive in inhumane conditions, while gangs profiting from widespread lawlessness extort asylum seekers who are frequently abused, murdered and even sold in “slave markets”.