Up to 400,000 Refugees to Arrive in Germany Before End of 2016 – Report

Up to 400,000 refugees may arrive in Germany before the end of 2016 if the political situation remains unchanged, a study issued on Friday by the Nuremberg-based Institute for Employment Research (IAB) indicated.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The number of migrants and refugees, who will have unrestricted access to the German labor market, will amount to 160,000 by the end of the year, it is estimated in the report.

“If the political environment does not change, from 300,000 to 400,000 refugees can arrive in 2016. The assessment will remain relevant providing that the EU-Turkish deal and closure of the Balkan route remain in force,” IAB labor market researcher Herbert Bruecker was quoted as saying in a statement.

According to the research, about 70 percent of the migrants and refuges who are looking for work, and almost a third of those who have already found employment, do not have a professional qualification.

Europe is struggling to find a solution to the massive refugee crisis, with hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing conflict-torn countries in the Middle East and North Africa in order to reach stable and wealthy European countries, such as Germany and Sweden.

EU border agency Frontex detected over 1.83 million illegal border crossings in 2015, in contrast to some 283,000 in 2014. Of these, more than 1 million net arrivals streamed into Germany, according to the German Federal Statistical Office.