This year, more than 800,000 asylum applications have already been submitted in the EU, Switzerland and Norway. Compared to previous years, this is the highest figure since 2016. By the end of the year there could be more than a million.
According to a report, more than 800,000 asylum applications have already been submitted this year in the 27 countries of the European Union as well as Norway and Switzerland. This is reported by “Welt” and based on figures from the EU Asylum Agency (EUAA).
According to this, 801,459 asylum applications were submitted in the 29 countries from the beginning of the year up to the deadline on October 3rd. This is the highest value compared to the corresponding periods of the previous year since 2016, it goes on to say.
Biggest increases in Latvia, hardly any applications in Hungary
According to the report, the largest increases in the number of applications were recorded in Latvia (plus 168 percent) and Estonia (plus 119 percent) due to the sharp increase in irregular migration from Belarus as a result of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
Germany is in third place with an increase in the number of applications of 74 percent compared to the same period last year. In Italy, the numbers have increased by 63 percent compared to the same period last year, the newspaper quotes from the EU report. In France, the percentage increase was 37 percent, according to “Welt”. In Germany, according to the EUAA, almost every third asylum application was made by people from Syria (27 percent), followed by Afghanistan (17 percent) and Turkey (16 percent), according to “Welt”.
According to the information, the numbers fell the most in Denmark (minus 56 percent), Malta (minus 54 percent), Cyprus (minus 52 percent) and Austria (minus 41 percent). The country with the fewest asylum applications so far this year was Hungary with only 26 applications so far. According to the report, the EUAA assumes that the million mark will be exceeded by the end of the year.
Agreement on asylumCrisis regulation
In order to limit irregular migration into the EU, the member states decided on key aspects of an asylum reform (CEAS) in the summer. But there are still discrepancies. After weeks of dispute, the EU member states agreed on the crisis regulation at the beginning of October, a core element of the reform.
It sets out exceptional rules that should apply in the event of a sudden, massive increase in immigration. For example, asylum seekers should be able to be held at the border for a longer period of time while their applications are examined. The federal government initially blocked the regulation due to humanitarian concerns. The asylum reform should last until the European elections in June 2024.