In the EU, asylum applications are rising rapidly – 519,000 in the first half of 2023, an increase of 28 percent. According to the EU Asylum Agency, over a million applications are expected by the end of the year.
The number of asylum applications in the 27 EU member states as well as in Norway and Switzerland rose to more than half a million in the first half of the year. According to statistics from the EU asylum agency EUAA, based in Malta, from the beginning of January to the end of June a total of 519,000 people applied for international protection in the so-called EU+ area. Compared to the first half of 2022 (406,000 applications), this means an increase of 28 percent.
The agency expects to see more than a million applications for all of 2023 if current trends continue. Last year, the number of 996,000 applications was just under the million mark. Significantly more were registered in 2015 (1.4 million) and 2016 (1.3 million). The EUAA (European Agency for Asylum) also pointed out that as a result of the Russian war of aggression, around four million people from Ukraine are currently staying in the EU+ countries with temporary protection.
In the first six months of the current year, according to the agency, most new applications came from people from Syria (67,000), followed by Afghanistan, Venezuela, Turkey and Colombia. With almost a third (30 percent), most of the applications were again received in Germany, followed by Italy and France. In addition to the 27 EU countries, the statistics also include the two non-members Norway and Switzerland.
Source: Stern
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