BRUSSELS, (Pakistan Point News - 27th Jun, 2020) In 2019, applications for asylum in EU+ countries rose by 11 percent to 738,425, followed by a 16 percent increase recorded in the first two months of 2020, according to the European Asylum Support Office, EASO, annual flagship report.
The EASO Asylum Report, which presents a comprehensive overview of the latest key developments in asylum data, policy, practice and legislation, finds that 2019 was the first time since 2015 that applications increased on an annual basis, in part due to a sharp rise in applicants from Venezuela (+103 percent over 2018) and Colombia (+214 percent over 2018).
Some EU+ countries – such as Cyprus, France, Greece, Malta and Spain – received more asylum applications in 2019 than during the so-called migration crisis in 2015 and 2016.
In 2019, the majority of asylum applications were lodged in Germany (165, 615; 22 percent), France (128, 940; 17 percent) and Spain (117, 795; 16 percent), while the fewest were lodged in Liechtenstein (50), Estonia (105) and Latvia (195). Most asylum applicants were Syrians (80, 205; 11 percent), Afghans (60, 700; 8.2 percent) and Venezuelans (45, 645; 6.2 percent).
EU+ countries made progress toward reaching the goal of resettling 50, 000 migrants from non-EU countries under the second EU Resettlement Scheme. In 2019, approximately 30, 700 persons arrived in Europe through resettlement, 8 percent more than in 2018. Syrians accounted for nearly two-thirds of all resettled persons for the third year in a row.
The number of decisions taken at first instance (excluding appeals) in 2019 decreased slightly (-3 percent) to 584, 770, compared to 601, 430 in 2018. Germany recorded the most decisions (154, 175), followed by France (113, 890) and Italy (93, 485). Syrians (12 percent) accounted for the majority of decisions in the EU+, followed by Venezuelans (6.7 percent) and Afghans (6.4 percent).
The number of pending cases still awaiting a decision at the end of 2019 (almost 912, 000 applications) remained much higher compared to the pre-2015 level, illustrating the pressure under which asylum and reception systems are still operating. However, backlogs were reduced in early 2020 as a result of temporary office closures due to COVID-19 safety measures. At the end of March, there were about 836, 000 pending cases, an 8% decrease compared to the end of December 2019.
Nonetheless, as reported by EASO in recent months, national emergency measures due to COVID-19 led to a dramatic 87 percent reduction in asylum applications. Only about 8, 700 applications for international protection were registered in EU+ countries in April, the lowest since at least 2008.
As national and travel restrictions begin to ease, EASO expects that asylum applications will begin increasing and return to pre-COVID-19 trends. In May, asylum applications were already rising again, albeit slowly. EASO reiterates that there is no indication of less demand for international protection, and as highlighted by EASO in May, EU+ countries should be prepared for increases in asylum applications in the medium term, including due to the repercussions of COVID-19 on low-income countries.
