"At least 850,000 expected to cross Mediterranean"

"At least 850,000 expected to cross Mediterranean"

"Many are refugees from Syria, driven to make the voyage by intensified fighting there and worsening conditions for refugees in surrounding countries due to funding shortfalls in aid programs," UNHCR said.

"In 2015, UNHCR anticipates that approximately 400,000 new arrivals will seek international protection in Europe via the Mediterranean. In 2016 this number could reach 450,000 or more," the agency said.

Spokesman William Spindler said the prediction for this year was close to being fulfilled, with 366,000 having already made the voyage, while "the total will depend on whether migrants stop attempting the journey as the weather gets colder and the seas more dangerous," according to Reuters.

"So far, the numbers do not appear to have slowed down, with many appearing spurred on by Germany's announcement that it will ease the rules for Syrians seeking refuge who first reach the European Union through other countries. A single-day record 7,000 Syrian refugees arrived in the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia on Monday, while 30,000 are on Greek islands, most of them on Lesbos," the report was quoted.

UNHCR chief Antonio Guterres "called for an increase in the number of legal ways for refugees to come to Europe, such as an increase in number of visas and ways to reunite people with their families."

Special representative of the UN secretary-general for migration and development Peter Sutherland "called for a 'harmonized system' and 'fair allocation' in the European Union."

According to him, "Europe's Dublin rules requiring asylum seekers to apply in the first EU country they reach would have to be amended, or they could jeopardize the principles of border control-free travel in the bloc's Schengen zone."

"Coherence is going to require leadership and leadership before we see the destruction of great achievements like the Schengen agreement. I think Dublin doesn't work," Sutherland said.

According to this UN official "other countries, including the United States, wealthy Gulf states and Japan, must face their responsibilities."

European Commission President Jean Claude Juncker will on Wednesday present to the European Parliament a new plan for distribution of refugees across the EU.