asylum applications at a record high since 2016 and the refugee crisis

Around 966,000 asylum applications were registered in 2022 in European Union countries, Switzerland and Norway. This is a record since 2016 at the time of the refugee crisis, according to data published on Wednesday February 22 by the EU Agency for Asylum (AUEA).

These applications, mainly filed by Syrians and Afghans, are up by more than 50% compared to 2021, according to this provisional data. The increase is due “in part to the lifting of restrictions linked to the Covid-19 pandemic”but also to situations of conflict and food insecurity in the world, notes the agency.

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These asylum seekers join the 4 million Ukrainians who fled the war and benefit from a special status of temporary protection in the EU, says the AUEA, stressing that the combination of the two has “national reception systems under considerable pressure”. This thorny subject is causing divisions within the European Union, with some countries feeling overwhelmed.

Four out of ten decisions were positive

In 2015-2016, during the influx of refugees in Europe caused in particular by the stalemate of the conflict in Syria, the number of asylum seekers had reached 1.3 million (in 2015) and 1.2 million (in 2016 ). Asylum applications by unaccompanied minors amounted to 43,000 in 2022, the highest number since 2015.

Some 40% of first instance decisions in 2022 were positive, granting the applicant refugee or subsidiary protection status, the “recognition rate” the highest in five years. This rate is particularly high for Syrians (94%), Belarusians (88%), Ukrainians (86%), Eritreans and Yemenis (84% each), Malians (70%).