Asylum applications in Europe increasing rapidly

Bangladeshis are ahead

Batan Biswas, Swden: In the first six months of this year, the number of asylum seekers in the European Union (EU) increased by 28 percent compared to last year. In this case Bangladeshis are number six among the top applicants. These data are revealed in the statistics published by the European authorities on Tuesday (September 5).
According to the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA), from January 2023 to the end of June, the 27 member countries of the alliance and partners Switzerland and Norway received a total of 519,000 applications for asylum.
Accordingly, by the end of this year, the number of asylum applications in Europe could reach more than 1 million. The EU has not seen such a high number of asylum applications since 2015-16. At that time, as the residents of war-torn Syria began to flee the country, a flood of immigrants came to Europe.
In 2015, European countries received 1.3 million asylum applications. In 2016, that number was 12.5 million.
But the number of asylum applications fell after the EU signed a deal with Turkey in 2017 to curb illegal border crossings. In 2020-21, the number of asylum applications was also very low due to travel restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic.
But that number is rising again. The EUAA said the number of asylum applications rose by 53 per cent in 2022, putting European countries under “pressure”.
Due to the war with Russia, the EU is giving special protection to Ukrainians. Through this, at least 4 million Ukrainians have found refuge in various European countries. Countries are under pressure to settle their residence.
According to the EUAA, Syrians and Afghans made up a quarter of all applicants for asylum in Europe this year. Next are citizens of Venezuela, Türkiye, Colombia, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Germany received most of the Syrian refugees in 2015-16. It remains a favorite destination for asylum seekers this year, especially for Syrians and Afghans.
In the first half of 2023, Germany received about 62 percent of asylum applications from Syrians in Europe. And Spain is the main destination for Venezuelan asylum seekers.
Overall, 41 percent of applicants received either refugee status or other protection for stay. But differences have been observed in the outcome of asylum applications based on nationality.
Syrians and Afghans, victims of conflict and persecution at home, are more likely to receive such status. In contrast, the number of applications rejected by Turks was higher.
EUAA said the rate of protection of Russian and Iranian nationals in Europe has also increased significantly compared to the previous year.