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

More than 700,000 have arrived in Europe so far in 2015

Refugees embark from a dinghy on the shores on Lesbos

(EPA)

More than three million more refugees and migrants are expected to arrive in the European Union by the end of 2016, the European Commission has said.

In 2015 around 700,000 people have come to Europe seeking sanctuary or jobs so far this year, overwhelming reception centres and border authorities.

The Commission, the bloc's executive, says that "overall, an additional 3 million persons is assumed to arrive in the EU over the forecast period" and that numbers are unlikely to slow before 2017.

700 children a day are now claiming asylum every day on European soil, more than 190,000 this year, according to aid agency Unicef.

Britian has pledged to take 4,000 refugees a year from camps near Syria, a small drop in the ocean compared to the hundreds of thousands planned by Germany and other European nations.

The UK will not take any refugees who arrive in Europe on their own accord, however.

Labour's Yvette Cooper, the party's lead on the refugee crisis, says the Government has not done enough on the issue.

The UK is also providing significant amounts of financial and humanitarian aid to camps near conflict zones in Syria.

The Commission also estimates that the refugee crisis could have a small, positive impact on EU member states within a few years due to an increase labour supply.

The EU's border agency Frontex says the main routes into the EU are through the Western Balkan countries, as well as the Eastern and Central Mediterranean.

Additional reporting by AP