The number of asylum applications has fallen, says the European Union Asylum Agency. In other EU countries, however, the number of applications is increasing.
According to the EU Asylum Agency, 170,574 asylum applications had been submitted in Germany by the end of September. That is 24 percent less than in the same period last year, as “Welt am Sonntag” reported on Saturday. 30 percent of the applicants came from Syria, another 15 percent from Afghanistan and 13 percent from Turkey.
In the European Union and Norway, Germany remains the front runner with around 171,000 asylum applications, as the newspaper further reported, citing information from the EU agency. Spain comes in second place with almost 123,000 asylum applications, and Italy comes third with around 117,000 applications.
Asylum applications are increasing in Italy and Greece – sharp decline in Austria
In Italy, the number of applications increased by 25 percent compared to the same period last year, and in Greece by 39 percent. Hungary (21), Slovakia (121) and Lithuania (284) recorded the fewest applications. The biggest decline was in Austria, where the number of applications more than halved by 57 percent to just under 19,000.
“Welt am Sonntag” quoted the figures from an October 3rd report by the EU Commission on the migration situation. In it, Brussels warns of a wave of refugees from Lebanon to the EU. “Given the large number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon (almost 1.5 million) and the deteriorating humanitarian situation for the entire population in Lebanon, the number of those fleeing across the border is likely to continue to increase.”
Even though flights to and from Beirut have been suspended, there are still options for migrants to use other sea, land and air routes – such as via airports in Cairo and Damascus or overland through Syria and Turkey, the newspaper cited further. According to the EU report, 345,000 people were displaced domestically as a result of the war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon by September 29th. Around 100,000 people had fled to Syria by the end of September.
Source: Stern
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