THREE MILLION migrants will arrive in Europe by 2017 as more continue to flee Syria and other war zones

Three million refugees and migrants could arrive in the European Union by 2017, according predictions made by the EU's executive arm.

The European Commission has estimated one million arrivals in total during 2015, soaring to 1.5million in 2016 and then decreasing to half-a-million in 2017.

However, once unsuccessful asylum applications have been taken into account, this will only represent a 0.4 per cent population increase.

In addition, European Union economic commissioner Pierre Moscovici said that the influx of refugees and migrants from 2015-2017 will end up boosting the EU's economy.

'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 percent by 2017,' Moscovici said.

'That will combat a certain number of received ideas and backs the politics of President Jean-Claude Juncker,' who has pushed for the EU to do more to help migrants, Moscovici added.

The migrant arrivals would create a short term boost to growth from higher government spending on new asylum seekers, the Commission said.

That would be followed by a medium-term boost because of an increase in the number of workers available 'provided the right policies are in place to facilitate access to the labour market,' it said.

This comes as the Spanish navy were called out to rescue more than 500 men, women and children whose small wooden boat had sailed adrift off the coast of Libya on Thursday morning.