"We are going to continue to engage the EU to discuss with them additional steps to be helpful in this regard, but I'm not aware of any impending policy changes it relates to immigrants from that region of the world entering the United States," Earnest stated.
For now, Earnest noted, that the United States would focus on offering support and technical expertise from US Coast Guard as well as providing financial assistance.
"There is certainly capacity in Europe to deal with this problem and the United States certainly stands with our European partners," Earnest noted.
There are a variety of forms of assistance, he added, and the United States stands ready to offer them to its European allies.
More than 90,000 Syrians have arrived in Greece between January and July 2015, and about 60,000 have passed through Macedonia and Serbia seeking entry in EU countries. However, thousands have sought and been granted asylum in these countries as well as throughout Europe.
The State Department said in August that the United States planned to admit up to 8,000 Syrian refuges in 2016.
