According to new statistics published by the European Union Agency for Asylum on 22 February, EU and Schengen associated states received some 966,000 applications for international protection in 2022, an increase of more than 50% compared to 2021 and the highest figure since 2016.
The largest groups of asylum seekers were Syrians (132,000), Afghans (129,000) and Turks (55,000).
This increase is partly linked to “the removal of Covid-19 restrictions and longer-term underlying trends, such...