According to a report by the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUA), asylum applications in the EU, Norway and Switzerland are set to decline by about 12% in 2024.
The Malta-based agency recorded more than 1 million initial applications from Norway and Switzerland as well as 27 EU member states last year, compared with 1.14 million in 2023, based on German news agency dpa and reports seen by the newspaper. sunday world,
Germany remains the most popular expatriate destination
According to data reported by the EUAA, the majority of applications included in last year’s report were submitted in Germany, totaling 235,925 initial applications. sunday world,
However, Germany also saw a 30.2% decline in asylum applications compared to 2023, dpa said, citing the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF).
According to new EUAA data, the majority of asylum seekers in the EU came from Syria (15%), Afghanistan (8.7%), Venezuela (7.3%) and Turkey (5.5%).
BAMF said the majority of initial applications received in Germany were from people from Syria, Afghanistan and Türkiye.
Spain, with 165,398 applicants, ranks second in the list of European countries with the most asylum applications, followed by France (158,512) and Italy (154,824).
Over the same period, Hungary received only 29 new asylum applications in 2024. Budapest has repeatedly come into conflict with Brussels over its refusal to take in migrants.
Migration is also a key issue for voters in the German elections in February, where the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is gaining ground with its anti-immigrant rhetoric.
dvv/ab (dpa, Reuters)
