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Some 16 Eritreans are being flown from Italy to a new home in Sweden - the first refugees to be resettled under a new EU relocation plan, BBC reported.

Under the EU's plan, 120,000 refugees will be redistributed from Italy and Greece to other European countries.

The Eritreans will be waved off by Italy's interior minister. Italy has long asked for help from EU partners in coping with the migrant influx.

The EU on Thursday approved a range of measures to tackle the issue.

Interior ministers agreed to beef up its border force Frontex in order to speed up deportations of failed asylum seekers. They also called for more effective re-admission deals with countries of origin outside the EU.

The conclusions from their talks said EU states should detain migrants who may abscond before they are deported.
 

The plan to resettle 120,000 refugees from Italy and Greece - two countries which have borne the brunt of the influx - was agreed by the EU in September.

The plan is now being put into action with what - at this stage - must count as extreme modesty, the BBC's James Reynolds reports from Rome.