More than a million asylum applications in the European Union, mainly from Syrians and Afghans, were submitted in 2023, a record for seven years, the European asylum agency said.
The number of requests for protection in the 27 EU countries, as well as in Norway and Switzerland, countries associated with the Schengen area, increased by 18% compared to 2022 to reach 1.14 million, specifies in a report published on Wednesday by the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA).
A trend which confirms the increase observed since 2020 when the EU emerged from the coronavirus pandemic during which travel was limited.
It is also approaching the level seen in 2015-2016, when 1.3 million people - many of them Syrians fleeing civil war - sought refuge.
Nationalities
At the top of requests in 2023 is Germany, which recorded 334,000 asylum requests (around 29% of the total), double those of France (167,000) which occupies second position.
Next comes Spain with 162,000 requests, then Italy with 136,000 requests.
However, while Germany received almost one in three asylum applications, it was Cyprus, followed by Austria and Greece, which recorded the highest proportion of applications in relation to their number of asylum seekers. 'residents.
Across the EU, Syrians submitted 181,000 applications compared to 114,000 Afghans, although the number of applications fell by 11% compared to 2022. Turkish nationals submitted 101,000 applications, an increase of 82% compared to 2022. compared to the previous year, most of them in Germany.
Not all applications submitted in the EU are approved and are strongly linked to nationalities, so the recognition rate in 2023 was 43%, the highest rate since 2016.
Syrians and Afghans were granted protection in 80% and 61% of requests respectively, but under different statuses.
In most cases, Syrians have benefited from subsidiary protection that allows them to remain in the country, but with more obstacles to acquiring citizenship or obtaining a permanent residence permit.
Afghans have generally obtained refugee status due to persecution perpetrated by the Taliban in power since August 2021.