16/03/2016 (Agence Europe) - Corina Cretu wants to avoid “parallel societies” being created due to the refugee crisis. In an interview to the German daily newspaper, Die Welt, published on Tuesday 15 March, the Commissioner for Regional Policy, Corina Cretu, stated that the “main danger to the EU are parallel societies emerging”. According to the Commissioner, these could start developing if refugees are not swiftly integrated into European society. Due to her concerns, the Commissioner highlighted the possibility of reprogramming structural funds allocated to reducing socio-economic disparities between European regions, in an effort to tackle the refugee crisis. She subsequently expressed her regret that only Italy had so far taken advantage of this possibility. It is, however, true that a number of municipalities and regions have doubts about the subject of these ad hoc measures (see EUROPE 11511). (PH)