EU Asylum Seekers Reach Nearly a Million in First 10 Months of 2024, EUAA Director Says
The number of asylum seekers in Europe is expected to reach nearly a million by the end of 2024, despite a slight drop in the first ten months of the year, according to EU Asylum Agency (EUAA) Director Nina Gregori.
Gregori told the Funke-Mediengruppe newspapers that around 860,000 asylum applications had been registered in the EU in the first ten months of the year, a slight decrease from the previous year.
“I expect the number to be around one million by the end of the year” Gregori said.
The number of asylum applications in the EU had previously risen to around 1.1 million in the previous year, exceeding the one million mark for the first time since the refugee crisis of 2015/2016.
Gregori expects a “relatively stable development” in the future.
Germany remains the main destination for asylum seekers in the EU, with around a quarter of all asylum applications in the first half of 2024 being filed in the country. However, the number of asylum seekers in Germany is declining, with a 28.8% drop in the first eleven months of the year compared to the previous year, according to the German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF).
Syria, Afghanistan, and Turkey are the top countries of origin for asylum seekers in the EU, followed by Venezuela and Colombia, which is notable because asylum seekers from these countries can enter the EU without a visa.
“About 20% of the asylum seekers are from countries with visa-free entry to the EU, which is quite a lot” Gregori said.
It is difficult to predict the future, Gregori said, as the situation in the Middle East remains challenging, with millions of Syrian refugees still in neighboring countries. “We don’t know how things will develop in Lebanon” she said, adding that the agency must be prepared.
Despite the relatively stable development in asylum applications, Gregori said the term “migration crisis” no longer accurately describes the current situation. Instead, there is a continuous influx of people to Europe, with a high recognition rate of 49% among those seeking protection.
“The real problem is the long duration of asylum procedures, which can often take three or four years, including court proceedings” Gregori said. “This is why many asylum seekers remain in the member states.” However, she expressed hope that the new EU Asylum and Migration Pact will significantly shorten the asylum procedures.