The tensions in Europe because of the refugee situation can be mitigated in the future. To achieve this, we should build structural capacity to deal with (similar) immigrant flows. This is necessary because without it there are conflicting interests among Europeans and its states:

• many Europeans and European countries want to help refugees;
• many Europeans don’t necessarily want refugees in their backyard;
• many European and national institutions seem incapable of handling the sudden surge of refugees.

To prevent this situation from recurring, we “need” more immigrants when there are few conflicts, and consequently few refugees. Europe needs something like a lottery (as the US has) to let a significant number of people migrate to Europe, each year again. This makes it feasible to build legal, commercial and societal structures around these immigrant flows. When global conflicts arise, these resources can be build upon and diverted from the lottery to help war refugees.