The situation in Europe little by little it begins to resemble that of 2015the year of the refugee crisiswhen more than a million people arrived on the European continent fleeing the war in Syria and requested asylum in the European Union. Seven years later, the figures confirm that the pressure not only has not disappeared but is increasing. In the month of August alone, the countries of the European Union received 77,595 asylum applications, 11,000 more than in the month of July, and 54% more than a year earlier. “Between May and July 2022, the number of applications for international protection filed in EU countries reached monthly highs that were last seen during the 2015-2016 refugee crisis,” warns the European Asylum Agency in one of his latest analyses.
According to the Frontex agency, In the first 10 months of the year, 275,000 irregular arrivals were detected in the EU, 73% more than in the same period of 2021 and the highest number since 2016. This, without counting the 250,000 requests for temporary protection -particularly from Ukrainians- registered in August, which rise to almost 4.7 million people protected since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24, and almost 5 million the number of refugees and asylum seekers in 2022, according to the European agency.
“The national asylum and reception systems of the Member States are under very high pressure”, the Czech presidency admitted in the summary of the Extraordinary Council of Interior Ministers held this Friday to examine the pressure in the central Mediterranean and other migratory routes, in light of the case of the ship ‘Ocean Viking’. “The sharp increase in arrivals, combined with the number of people fleeing Ukraine and needing accommodation, is threatening the functioning of reception systems in the EU, which are already saturated in some countries,” the agency recently warned.
tension between governments
It is the case of Belgium, whose authorities have been in the eye of the hurricane for weeks for leaving hundreds of immigrants and asylum seekers, women and children included, to their fate on the streets, without giving them accommodation in reception centers due to lack of places. The increase in pressure has, however, triggered tensions in other Member States that say they are overwhelmed. Some as Austria, Hungary and Serbiahave already begun to make alliances to shield their borders and prevent further arrivals.
The goal of your chancellor, Karl Nehammerthe same as that of its Hungarian counterpart, Victor Orban, and the Serbian Alexander Vucicis to prevent what they call “à la carte asylum” either “asylum tourism“ coming from “India or Tunisia” through the western balkans route, the main route of entry into the continent at the moment. “You have to realize this request for help from countries that are suffering enormous pressure, such as Austria, on the route to the Western Balkans. They need to have an action plan to solve the problem they have,” he said. recognized czech interior minister, vit rakusan.
The Balkan route
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In the first 10 months of the year alone, 22,300 arrivals would have taken place through this route, the highest number since 2015 and 141% more than a year ago. According to the latest statistics Published this Friday by Eurostat, Syrians continue to occupy first place in terms of asylum applications (11,860 in August) ahead of Afghans (10,675), whose arrivals have rebounded since the Taliban took power. These two nationalities account for a third of all requests, ahead of Indians (4,170), Turks (4,105), with record arrivals since 2014, and Venezuelans (3,565).
Germany, according to the latest Eurostat comparison, continues to be the country that receives the most applications (22% of the total), followed by Austria (18%), France (15%), Spain (11%) and Italy (8%). Between the five countries they added 74% of the demands in August. Upon his arrival at the meeting of ministers, the head of the Spanish Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaskahas warned that none of the routes can be “neglected” and that it is necessary to close an agreement on the “Asylum and Immigration Pact” before the end of the European legislature.