Almost a million people sought international protection in the European Union in 2022, the most since the refugee crisis in 2016, the EU Asylum Agency (EUAA) announced today.
Significantly more asylum requests were from the Western Balkans, especially from Albania, North Macedonia, Serbia and Kosovo, EUAA announced.
According to the agency's data, citizens of Montenegro submitted 2022 requests for asylum in 402, 17 less than in 2021.
Refugee status was approved for two applicants from Montenegro, the so-called eight received subsidiary protection, while 424 requests were rejected, and it is written that 434 decisions were made.
It is stated that 93 cases are pending, and that the percentage of asylum recognition is two percent.
Citizens of Albania (13.000) and North Macedonia (6.500) submitted the most requests for asylum from the countries of the region. Serbian citizens submitted 4.172 requests. More than 3.000 Kosovo residents applied for asylum, and the recognition rate was eight percent.
In 27 EU member states, Norway and Switzerland, about 966.000 asylum applications were submitted last year, which is 50 percent more than in 2021.
That number does not include more than four million Ukrainian refugees who were granted special temporary protection status by the EU in March.
About four percent of asylum seekers (43.000) were unaccompanied minors, the most since 2015.
The EU agency linked the rise in the number of asylum applications to the easing of travel restrictions imposed due to the pandemic, increased food insecurity and conflicts in many parts of the world.
Although most asylum seekers enter the EU legally, mostly by plane with travel visas, some also cross land and sea borders without permission, mostly via the Western Balkans and the Mediterranean, the statement said.
After more than 10 years of war and economic crisis, Syria is still the country from which most asylum seekers come, with 132.000 applications submitted.
Behind it are Afghans, who are fleeing security, humanitarian and financial problems that have been on the rise since the Taliban took power in August 2021. Over the past year, 129.000 Afghans have applied for asylum in the EU.
In third place is Turkey, with 55.000 requests, twice as many as in 2021. Rising inflation and "democratic backsliding" are some of the factors believed to have led to the increase, the agency said.
In addition to Turks, Venezuelans (2022 requests), Colombians (51.000), Bangladeshis (43.000) and Georgians (34.000), as well as Moroccans, Tunisians and Egyptians, submitted a record number of requests for asylum in 29.000.
The number of requests from citizens of India increased six times, and from Burundi five times, which the agency links to Serbia's visa-free regime with those countries, which was abolished at the end of 2022.
"Visa-free entry to non-EU countries in the Western Balkans probably also contributed to the large number of requests from Turkey and Tunisia," the EUAA said.
The recent earthquake that killed nearly 46.000 people and left hundreds of thousands homeless in Turkey and Syria has increased fears of an increase in irregular crossings to Greece.
The EU agency did not say which countries received the most asylum requests last year, but according to an internal EU migration report that AP had access to, it was Germany, France, Spain, Austria and Italy.
In 2022, the authorities made decisions on more than 630.000 requests, but even more new cases were received. The number of submitted requests was 333.000 more than the decisions made, which is the biggest difference since 2015.
Of the processed requests, 40% were granted refugee status or subsidiary protection, which is the highest in the past five years.
The highest recognition rate was for applicants from Syria, Belarus, Eritrea, Yemen and Mali, as well as for the majority of Ukrainians who applied for asylum rather than temporary protection.
On the other hand, the rate of asylum recognition was very low for citizens of India, Moldova, North Macedonia and Vietnam (one percent), Tunisia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (two percent), Venezuela, Serbia and Nepal (three percent).
Reception centers in many places were full, so asylum seekers remained on the streets.
"A total of five million people seeking protection in Europe have put considerable pressure on national reception systems," the Agency said.
During the refugee crisis mostly caused by the war in Syria, the number of asylum seekers reached 2015 million in 1,3, and 2016 million in 1,2.
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