The number of asylum applications registered in the European Union, Norway and Switzerland fell by 11 per cent in 2024 but remained above the one million mark for the second year in a row, according to an annual report published by the European Union Asylum Agency (EUAA) on Monday morning, Euronews reports.
A total of 1,014,420 requests for international protection were made last year, compared to 1,143,437 requests recorded in 2023.
Almost half (48 per cent) of the one million requests were made by nationals with historically low chances of a successful decision, suggesting they are likely to be rejected by national authorities.
The trend adds to the ongoing concerns of EU member states, which have asked Brussels to reform current legislation to speed up the deportation of rejected asylum seekers, such as economic migrants who came to the continent seeking better living conditions rather than fleeing persecution or abuse.
Camps for asylum seekers
The European Commission has endorsed the controversial idea of building camps (also known as “return centres”) outside EU territory to relocate those whose claims have been rejected. An updated return directive is expected to be presented later this month.
As in recent years, Syrians, Afghans, Venezuelans, Turks and Colombians made up the largest number of applicants in 2024, the EUAA report said.
The number of requests from Syrians (151,000) fell by 17 per cent overall and by 24 per cent in Germany, the main host country. This change is not directly related to the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s rule, which only occurred in December and whose effects have not yet fully manifested themselves.
Applications from Afghans (87,382), Turks (55,705) and Colombians (51,529) also fell.
In contrast, applications from Venezuelans rose to 73,187, a record high since at least 2014. The vast majority of these (90 per cent) were filed in Spain.
As a result of the ongoing conflict in the Central Sahel region, Spain is facing extreme migratory pressure in the Canary Islands. The number of applications from Malian (17,000) and Senegalese (14,000) nationals doubled compared to the previous year.
Europe’s migrants
Ukrainians fleeing military conflict submitted 27,000 asylum requests in 2024, a 90 per cent increase compared to 2023. This increase is due to the Temporary Protection Directive, a special regime that applies to Ukrainian nationals and expires in March 2026. Asylum applications can be a long-term alternative to this directive.
In terms of destination countries, Germany still leads the way with more than 237,000 applications in 2024. However, this figure is down by 29 per cent compared to 2023.
Irregular migration was one of the topics that dominated the debate in the parliamentary elections in February. Friedrich Merz, the Conservative leader poised to become the next chancellor, has promised to sharply tighten migration and asylum laws.
Germany is followed by Spain (165,767 requests), Italy (158,867), France (158,730), Greece (73,688), Belgium (39,206) and the Netherlands (33,437) as top destinations.
Cyprus, a small island in the Mediterranean Sea, had the highest number of asylum applications per capita: one for every 138 inhabitants.
Hungary, on the other hand, received only 29 applications in 2024 due to its long-standing restrictions on the right to asylum, which the European Court of Justice recognised as “an unprecedented and exceptionally serious breach of EU law.” Hungary is currently facing a multi-million dollar ECJ fine, which is being gradually deducted from the country’s allocated share of the EU budget.
The recognition rate – the chances of an application being successful – was 42 per cent last year, virtually unchanged. The highest recognition rates are for Syrians (90 %), Malians (84 %), Eritreans (81 %), Ukrainians (80 %), Afghans (63 %) and Somalis (60 %).
EU efforts to reduce the flow of migrants
These figures are far from uniform and vary depending on the country that is considering the application. For example, Afghans who applied in Greece had a recognition rate of 98 per cent, while those who applied in Belgium had a much lower rate of 39 per cent.
Countries with low recognition rates of less than 20% include Turkey, Nigeria, Pakistan, Colombia, Tunisia, Morocco, Bangladesh, Georgia, Peru, Egypt and Venezuela.
At the end of 2024, the total backlog of cases will be 981,000, matching the peak seen during the 2016 migration crisis.
For years, the EU has tried to limit the number of applicants with low recognition rates so as not to overburden authorities with cases that are unlikely to be successful. Brussels has signed EU-funded agreements with Tunisia, Egypt and Lebanon to strengthen border controls and prevent irregular migrants from leaving.
But a closer look at the 2024 statistics shows the limitations of this approach.
According to Frontex, the EU’s border agency, there were 239,000 illegal border crossings last year, a 38 per cent drop. This means that the majority of the 1,014,420 asylum claims made in 2024 came from people who arrived in the bloc by legal means.
