"We cannot avoid the fact that around 1 million people is already on the EU territory and that most of them are here to stay," EU regional policy commissioner Corina Cretu said in an interview with EUobserver. (Photo: European Commission)

Magazine

'It's our duty to turn the migration challenge into an opportunity'

Migration

Business

Regions & Cities

by Eric Maurice, Brussels,

The refugee crisis that took Europe by surprise last year has posed many challenges for the EU's asylum system, border management and decision-making.

But it is cities that have borne the brunt of the arrival of more than 1 million people in a single year.

Roughly 70 percent of the European population and 75 percent of the continent's jobs are concentrated in cities. Many of the problems governments have to address – from affordable housing and air quality to energy efficiency an...