European Union interior ministers Thursday discussed how to make up for a 5,000-shortfall in the number of Iraqi refugees that they have pledged to host in Europe this year, reported dpa.
In November, ministers agreed to re-settle up to 10,000 vulnerable Iraqis currently living in camps in Syria and Jordan.
But so far, a total of just 5,000 offers have been made by the EU's 27 member states, with Germany making the greatest single pledge - 2,500.
Asked whether the current EU presidency would set an example by taking in some Iraqi refugees, Czech Interior Minister Ivan Langer said: "I believe that the best project is to get people back to their homes.
"The Czech presidency and others support the new Iraqi administration's efforts to make the country safe," Langer said.
His comments were described as "insulting" by Wolfgang Kreissl- Doerfler, a German member of the socialist grouping at the European Parliament, who said some of the Iraqis that needed most help were members of "ethnic and religious minorities, including Christians."
An EU fact-finding mission to Syria and Jordan last autumn concluded that while most of the millions of refugees would ultimately return home, there was a significant minority in urgent need of re-settlement, either because of medical problems or because they belong to minorities targeted during the Iraqi conflict.