Friday

9th Jun 2023

Treat EU asylum stats 'with caution', warn NGOs

  • Conflicts in place such as Syria (the top source of asylum claims) continue to push people to seek asylum and shelter elsewhere (Photo: Reuters/Abdalrhman Ismail)
Listen to article

EU-wide recognition rates for asylum seekers, including Norway and Switzerland, hovers at 40 percent.

The figure, cited on Wednesday (22 February) by the Malta-based European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA), is the highest in five years.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

But the true figure is likely higher, because the rate does not include appeals. And it does not cover humanitarian status granted by national authorities.

"Unfortunately, the data on decisions at appeal level is not yet complete for the year at this early stage, so we cannot provide such information yet," said Anis Cassar, EUAA spokesperson, in an email.

The distinction is important because the European Commission and other EU leaders have used a similar rate to drum up support for tighter border controls and offshoring responsibility to countries outside Europe.

"The fact is that the majority of those who apply for asylum are not in need for protection," said European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, earlier this month, ahead of the EU summit on migration.

"It seems like 60 percent will have a negative asylum decision," echoed EU home affairs commissioner, Ylva Johannson, in January.

But the European Council on Refugee and Exiles (ECRE), a Brussels-based umbrella group, disputes that.

They say that a further 10 percent are being granted protection statuses under national law, while one-third of those that appeal end up winning their case.

That is also an important distinction when it comes to Afghans. The EUAA say their asylum recognition rate was only 54 percent, down from 66 percent in 2021.

But they also note that "the decline was mainly due to more decision-granting humanitarian status under national law."

In other words, the 40 percent recognition rate is likely to be higher when one factors in appeals and other forms of national protection status.

ECRE also warns that EU asylum figures often mask the poor quality of asylum determination procedures in Europe.

Greece, for instance, will not look at the merit of some cases and dismissed some 9,000 applications amid claims that Turkey is safe enough for their return — despite the fact Ankara is forcibly deporting people back to Syria and Afghanistan.

It also means a person who lodges an application for asylum in one EU state, may have had an entirely different outcome in another.

At 966,000, the number of applications lodged last year are almost double those of 2021 and the most since 2016. Of those some 43,000 applicants claimed to be unaccompanied minors, the most since 2015.

Contextualised, the total population of the hosting European states is more than 450 million.

And most of the world's refugees and other people in need of international protection are actually found in much poorer states outside Europe, according to the UN refugee agency.

But the recent spike in asylum seekers in Europe is also partly due to the easing of Covid-19 restrictions as well as ongoing conflicts and food insecurity in many regions of origin, said the EUAA.

Most of the claims were lodged by Syrians (132,000) and Afghans (129,000), followed by Turks (55,000), Venezuelans (51,000) and Colombians (43,000) . Another four million Ukrainians are also being sheltered in Europe.

Syrians were one of the top three nationalities detected mainly along the Western Balkans, Central Mediterranean and Eastern Mediterranean Routes, according to the EU's border agency Frontex.

Their asylum recognition rates was 94 last year; the highest since 2017.

Ministers given 50/50 chance of reaching EU asylum deal

EU home affairs ministers are gathering in Luxembourg to thrash out an agreement on core asylum and migration reforms. But expectations of an agreement, following their meeting in Luxembourg on Thursday remained mixed.

Latest News

  1. Belgian bâtonnier on Russia: 'You can have a client you don't like'
  2. EU's proposed ethics body 'toothless', say campaigners
  3. Study: 90% of Spanish inflation 'driven by corporate profits'
  4. If Spanish economy is doing well, why is Sanchez poised to lose?
  5. EU lawyers for Russia: making 'good' money?
  6. The 'BlackRock exemption' has no place in the EU's due diligence directive
  7. Europeans don't see China as a rival, but weapons to Russia is a red line
  8. Cleaning workers urge Parliament: 'Europe should lead by example'

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of Ministers20 June: Launch of the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations
  2. International Sustainable Finance CentreJoin CEE Sustainable Finance Summit, 15 – 19 May 2023, high-level event for finance & business
  3. ICLEISeven actionable measures to make food procurement in Europe more sustainable
  4. World BankWorld Bank Report Highlights Role of Human Development for a Successful Green Transition in Europe
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic summit to step up the fight against food loss and waste
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersThink-tank: Strengthen co-operation around tech giants’ influence in the Nordics

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. EFBWWEFBWW calls for the EC to stop exploitation in subcontracting chains
  2. InformaConnecting Expert Industry-Leaders, Top Suppliers, and Inquiring Buyers all in one space - visit Battery Show Europe.
  3. EFBWWEFBWW and FIEC do not agree to any exemptions to mandatory prior notifications in construction
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic and Baltic ways to prevent gender-based violence
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Economic gender equality now! Nordic ways to close the pension gap
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Pushing back the push-back - Nordic solutions to online gender-based violence

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us