Brussels, 20/09/2007 (Agence Europe) - On 18 September, the European Commission published its annual report for 2006 on the activities of EURODAC, the EU-wide biometric tool which helps determine which member state is responsible for examining asylum claims. Figures show that in 2006 the number of recorded requests for asylum fell, while the number of persons registered as having illegally crossed borders rose significantly (up 64% on 2005). In 2006, EURODAC processed 165,958 sets of fingerprints of asylum seekers, 41,312 sets of fingerprints of people crossing the borders irregularly and 63,341 sets of fingerprints of people apprehended while illegally staying on the territory of a member state. However, the number of persons illegally crossing borders and not registered remains unknown. The report reveals that in 17% of the total number of cases, the same person had already made at least one asylum application in the same country or in another member state (known as a multiple application). In some cases, several applications had been made across several EU member states by the same person. This percentage is only 1% higher then in 2005, which could reflect that the deterrent effect of the “Dublin system” (which states that only one member state can examine an asylum application) is beginning to bear fruit. The detailed report can be consulted at the Commission's DG Justice, Freedom and Security web site. Since 15 January 2003, the fingerprints of anyone over the age of 14 who applies for asylum in the European Union, in Norway or in Iceland are stored in a database called EURODAC. In June, the Commission published a comprehensive report on the evaluation of the application of the Dublin system, comprising both the Dublin Regulation and EURODAC, from 2003-2005 (see EUROPE 9440). (bc)