France and Germany agreed on Thursday to propose a permanent and mandatory system to take in refugees and asylum seekers, especially Syrians, in the European Union, President Francois Hollande said.

"We have proposed, with German Chancellor (Angela) Merkel, a permanent and obligatory mechanism. I believe that today what exists is no longer enough and there are countries ... who do not assume their moral obligations so we will need to go further," Hollande said at a joint news conference Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny.