Asylum seekers | More than one million asylum seekers may arrive in EU countries this year

European the number of asylum applications made in the member states of the union has increased by 28 percent in the first half of this year compared to the same time last year, says the European Union Asylum Agency EUAA.

By the end of June, 519,000 applications were registered in EU countries, which may increase the number of applications to over a million by the end of this year. The number of applications may be somewhat higher than the number of applicants due to statistical methods.

If the trend at the beginning of the year continues, it would mean the highest numbers since the migration crisis of 2015 and 2016, when EU countries arrived in both years about 1.3 million people.

The number of asylum seekers grew rapidly last year as well, when the number of applications in the EU region increased by 53 percent compared to the previous year. Around 966,000 of them were recorded in the entire year 2022.

EU countries according to the EUAA, the ability or desire to receive refugees and other arrivals has been further tested due to Russia’s major attack on Ukraine. There are about four million Ukrainians in EU countries under temporary protection.

Most asylum seekers have come from Syria this year as well. In the first half of this year, Syrians have submitted a total of 67,000 applications, a 47 percent increase on the same period last year – and the highest number recorded since 2016.

Most Syrians have arrived in Germany, which has received 62 percent of all asylum applications in the EU region. About 95 percent of Syrians have received asylum in EU countries.

According to the EUAA agency, the asylum granting rates for citizens of some countries have changed significantly in recent years. For example, 54 percent of Turkish citizens received asylum in 2019, but only 28 percent during this year.

This year, 35 percent of Russian asylum seekers have been granted asylum, compared to 20 percent in 2021. For Iranians, 47 percent of applications have been approved this year, compared to 31 percent in 2020.

of the UN the refugee organization UNHCR according to statistics Around 157,000 people have crossed the Mediterranean Sea to EU countries – mostly Italy, Spain and Greece – this year, compared to 159,000 arrivals in the whole of last year.

At least 2,323 people have died or gone missing while crossing the Mediterranean this year by September 3. Last year, UNHCR recorded a total of 2,439 dead and missing.

Refugees leaving for Poland from Lviv railway station in western Ukraine in March 2022. Picture: Rio Gandara / HS

The Immigration Office by last year, 5,827 asylum applications were submitted in Finland, of which 1,805 were submitted by Ukrainians. Asylum applications by Ukrainians have practically stopped after applicants were granted temporary protection, to which approximately 45,000 Ukrainians were granted in 2022.

Earlier this year, the Finnish Immigration Service estimated that in 2023–2024, 3,500–4,500 people would apply for asylum in Finland for the first time each year.

“The background of the assessment is especially the protracted conflicts in key countries of origin such as Afghanistan, Somalia and Syria, as well as the burden of the internal refugee situation in transit countries,” the agency estimates.

In 2015, 32,476 asylum seekers arrived in Finland. By the way, in the 21st century has applied for asylum approximately 1,500–6,000 people annually, the Ministry of the Interior says on its website.