In 2019, the EU and Schengen associated countries received one third of all asylum applications worldwide, which was an increase of 11% compared to 2018, according to a new report from the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) unveiled on Thursday 25 June by Nina Gregori, the head of the EASO, and the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson. In 2019, there were therefore 738,425 new applications filed in the EU+.
The European Commissioner noted in the preamble that the forthcoming Pact on Migration and Asylum would strengthen the “right to asylum and protection”, but would also have to address issues such as secondary movements, which are currently causing an increase in applications in some Member States.
In any case, the agency stated in its report that asylum applications in the EU had risen again in 2019, which had not happened since 2015. The increase in 2019 is also partly linked to an increase in asylum applications from those citizens whose countries benefit from a visa-free regime and who can therefore legally come to the EU.
This increase in cases filed was seen with Venezuelans, whose situation within the country largely explains the departures and who, moreover, received 96% protection in the EU in 2019; it is also the case with Colombians, the countries of the Western Balkans, and citizens of Georgia. These visa-free claims accounted for a quarter of all claims filed in 2019.
For the rest, the EASO noted persistent imbalances between Member States. A handful of countries received the bulk of the applications: Germany (22%), France (17%), Spain (16%) received the majority, followed quite far behind by Greece, where the number of applications increased considerably, however, at the end of the year.
Some countries, says the EASO, have even received more applications than during the 2015-2016 migration crisis: this is the situation in Cyprus, France, Greece, Malta and Spain.
The EASO also explains the increase in applications in France by way of secondary movements, in Greece by arrivals from Turkey, and in Spain by an increase in arrivals from Latin America.
In 2019, most of the applications were filed by Syrians, Afghans and Venezuelans.
The EASO Annual Report also focuses on the issue of resettlement of refugees from non-Member States in Europe: in 2019, approximately 30,700 people arrived in Europe under the resettlement scheme, which was 8% more than in 2018. Syrians accounted for almost two thirds of all resettled individuals.
Finally, regarding 2020, the EASO said it had noted an 87% drop in demand as a result of Covid-19, although the agency predicted a gradual return to an upward trend.
Link to the report: https://bit.ly/31gwvRW (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)