Brussels, 09/07/2013 (Agence Europe) - The Syrians, followed by the Eritreans, the Malians and the Somalis, are the foreign nationals that benefited the most from international protection in the EU in 2012.
According to the findings of a report adopted on Monday 8 July by the European Asylum Support Office (EASO), the Afghans have continued to be the group of people who have submitted the most applications for asylum. Also, last year, there were 335,365 asylum applications in the EU, i.e. 11% more than in 2011. Of these, 260,575 were new applicants for international protection (an increase of 1% compared to 2011). Applicants from Afghanistan continued to be the most numerous overall in the EU (28,005) and included a large number of unaccompanied minors. In 2012, 95% of applications by Syrian refugees were accepted by EU member states, especially by Germany and Sweden, two countries which are particularly welcoming to these refugees.
Another finding of the report at a time when the European Parliament is about to amend a regulation on visas comprising a new safeguard clause for countries whose nationals have not complied with the visa regime is that, when taken all together, applicants for asylum from the six Western Balkan countries (Kosovo, FYROM, Albania, Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia Herzegovina) continue to make up the largest number of asylum applications (more than the Afghans and Syrians together). The report goes on to say that, in only 4% of the cases, applications had not been deemed well-founded. Finally, another element of the annual report, the Support Office located in Valetta, was asked to help four countries. In addition to Greece, which already has a partnership with EASO and is subject to a European action plan, the other three countries are Luxembourg, Sweden and Italy. The four countries have called for support in terms of staff training and statistics. (SP/transl.jl)