An attempt by four countries, including Malta, to encourage other EU member states to take a share of migrants rescued from the Central Mediterranean has so far failed to reach agreement.

Despite a marathon three-hour lunch on Tuesday, during which the crisis was discussed, no other country signed up to the temporary scheme mooted by Malta, Italy, Germany and France.

Outgoing European Commissioner for Migration and Home Affairs, Dimitris Avramopoulos told journalists member states were "not asked to make any commitment".

The deal is designed to help take the pressure off countries like Malta and Italy that are the first stop for migrants attempting to cross into Europe by boat. Under the scheme France and Germany volunteered to take in some of the rescued migrants.

Portugal, Ireland, Luxembourg and Finland are reportedly considering it but only if others sign on and as long as it does not include quotas for how many migrants each country would host.

Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Hungary and the Netherlands are opposed or extremely reluctant to join the scheme, according to diplomats.

The deal, signed two weeks ago in Malta, was meant to be a temporary six month agreement.

In a news conference after a meeting of EU interior ministers in Luxembourg, outgoing European Commissioner for Migration and Home Affairs, Dimitris Avramopoulos said the atmosphere during the lunch had been “constructive”.

“Today we discussed how to move forward together and this needs to be continued,” he said.

Asked why there had been no apparent progress two weeks after the so-called Malta declaration was signed, he said: “What counts more than time are acts.”

“We have to continue trying to convince member states,” he said.

“We had a very open and frank discussion. We all feel that it is a shared responsibility to respond positively to the Malta declaration. It’s a question of time.”

He said discussions would continue at a “very important” meeting next Friday in Brussels.