The number of asylum applications in the first half of this year in the European Union, Norway and Switzerland has increased by more than a quarter compared to the same period last year. That appears from figures published on Tuesday of the European Union Agency for Asylum.
In the first six months of this year, some 519,000 asylum applications were registered in the 29 countries surveyed. That is the highest number since 2015, the year of the European migration crisis that was mainly caused by the conflict in Syria. The Asylum Agency predicts that — if the current trend continues — the number of applications could reach one million by the end of the year. In 2015, 1.3 million people applied for asylum, a year later 1.2 million. Last year the counter came to 994,945 submitted applications.
According to the figures, most applications were submitted by Syrians, Afghans, Venezuelans, Turks and Colombians. That group makes up nearly half — about 44 percent — of the requests. By far the most asylum applications were made in Germany (30 percent). Spain and France also received a large share of the applications: 17 and 16 percent.
The agency also found that the number of files awaiting a decision increased by a third compared to last year. About 41 percent of people who applied for asylum received a positive answer on their first attempt.
Read also: Research: rescues in the Mediterranean do not attract migrants