Hungary's populist prime minister has called on nations including Australia to take in some of the asylum seekers flowing into Europe, while likening the influx to an "army".

The European Union is moving ahead with a plan, opposed by Hungary and several other eastern members of the bloc, to distribute 120,000 refugees, many of them Syrians, between its members.

But that is just a portion of this year's influx of asylum seekers, which the UN refugee agency has said may reach 700,000 and possibly more in 2016, in the greatest movement of people in Europe since World War Two.

"It's not fair, that the USA doesn't take any in, or only 10,000 to 15,000 refugees," Hungary's prime minister Viktor Orban told radio station Kossuth.

"It's not fair that Israel doesn't take any at all, that Australia doesn't take any at all, that the rich Arab countries are dithering.

"Everyone looks to Europe, because someone sent the refugees out in this direction."

The comments by Mr Orban, whose country has received almost 300,000 asylum seekers this year, most of them just passing through en route to western Europe, follow his appeal at the United Nations General Assembly this week for "global quotas".

In early September then-prime minister Tony Abbott announced Australia would settle an extra 12,000 refugees from Iraq and Syria, who had sought safety in neighbouring countries such as Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon.

It is hoped that the first refugees will arrive in Australia before Christmas.

Last month, secretary of state John Kerry said the US would in 2016 take in 85,000 refugees from across the world, including 10,000 from Syria.

Mr Orban, whose stance has regularly raised hackles in Europe, also said that "at least 80 per cent of the immigrants are young men".

"The group looks more like a young army than refugees," he said.

Last month, Hungary sealed its southern border with Serbia, diverting the flow of migrants through Croatia and the western Balkans.

But Zagreb has been transporting them to its north-eastern frontier with Hungary, which Mr Orban has said he also intends to seal off.

German city to use empty properties to house asylum seekers

Meanwhile the northern German city of Hamburg passed a law allowing it to requisition empty commercial properties to house asylum seekers.

"The parliament of the city of Hamburg adopted the law yesterday," city spokesman Ulfert Kaphengst said.

Private apartments are not affected.

Like the rest of the country, Hamburg has been struggling to find lodgings for the record influx of migrants.

As favoured destination for many of those arriving in Europe, Germany is expecting up to a million migrants this year.

Some local authorities were forced to put up tent cities to host the newcomers, but with winter swiftly arriving, they are urgently seeking alternative solutions to deal with the influx.

Berlin has already adopted such a measure allowing the forced seizure of commercial buildings.

In Hamburg, the opposition condemned the initiative, branding it a violation of property rights.

AFP/ABC