European Commission Predicts 3Mln Refugees Will Enter EU by End of 2017

Europe has been struggling with a major migrant crisis as hundreds of thousands refugees flee war-torn regions of the Middle East and North Africa. Over 710,000 migrants entered the bloc during the first nine months of 2015, according to the EU border agency Frontex.

BRUSSELS (Sputnik) — The European Commission expects some three million refugees to enter the European Union during 2015-2017, with a minor but positive impact on the region's economic growth, the European Commission said Thursday in its Autumn Economic Forecast.

"Overall, an additional 3 million persons is assumed to arrive in the EU over the forecast period. This corresponds to an increase in the population of 0.4% after taking into account that some asylum seekers will not qualify for international protection," according to the forecast.

The impact of migrants on EU economic growth is expected to be minimal but generally positive within the bloc, according to EU Commissioner on Economic and Financial Affairs Pierre Moscovici's comments on the forecast.

The Commission's forecast is based on available immigration data until the end of the third quarter of this year, as well as "a technical assumption" for migrant inflows until the end of 2017.

The European Commission said the forecast contained an initial assessment of the effect of larger-than-expected inflows of refugees on EU economies.