3 Million More Migrants Are Set To Enter Europe By 2017

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Three million migrants are expected to arrive in Europe by the end of 2017, the European Union has announced.

In a worrying report, EU economists predicted the crisis would get even worse with a 50 per cent rise in the numbers pouring in next year.

The warning came as the Government minister in charge of Britain’s international response said the migration crisis engulfing Europe is likely to last for 20 years

International Development Secretary Justine Greening said the humanitarian crisis in Syria was so severe that it was unlikely many refugees would return home within two decades.

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She also condemned Russia’s air strikes in the warzone, claiming the controversial bombardment had worsened the crisis by forcing even more Syrians to flee in search of sanctuary.

In Brussels, the European Commission claimed the ‘unprecedented influx’ of migrants could help boost the economy, but critics warned they needed to get a grip of the chaos.

‘Overall, an additional three million persons is assumed to arrive in the EU over the forecast period,’ the European Commission’s economic forecast for 2015-2017 said.

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It predicted there would be no let-up in arrivals until the end of next year, with one million in total during 2015, soaring to 1.5 million in 2016 and then decreasing to half a million in 2017.

The Commission claimed this would represent a 0.4 per cent EU population increase once unsuccessful asylum applications were taken into account.

European Union economic commissioner Pierre Moscovici suggested worries over the massive influx could be eased by their prediction of a tiny boost to the economy resulting from their arrival.

‘There will be an impact on growth that is weak but positive for the EU as a whole, and that will increase GDP (Gross Domestic Product) by 0.2 to 0.3 per cent by 2017,’ Mr Moscovici said.

Read More: Another 3 million refugees and migrants will arrive in Europe in 2016, EU says

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