FILE – Refugees wait in a crowd to be transported after fleeing Ukraine and arriving at the border crossing in Medyka, Poland, March 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)

Nearly one million people applied for international protection in the European Union in 2022, according to data released on Wednesday, bringing the number of asylum applications to a level not seen since the 2015-2016 refugee crisis.

The European Asylum Agency said last year that there were 966,000 asylum applications in the 27 EU countries, as well as in Norway and Switzerland, i.e. 50% more than in 2021. This does not include more than 4 million Ukrainian refugees who have been granted temporary protection in the country. EU, a special mechanism activated to prevent the collapse of already backward asylum systems.

The European agency linked the increase to the continued easing of travel restrictions related to COVID-19, which is increasing food insecurity and conflict in many parts of the world. Although most asylum seekers enter the EU legally, mainly by air on travel visas, some have also crossed EU land and sea borders without permission, mainly through the Western Balkans and the Mediterranean.

FILE - Men organize their belongings at a makeshift camp outside the Petit Château reception center in Brussels, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys, File)
FILE – Men organize their belongings at a makeshift camp outside the Petit Château reception center in Brussels, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys, File)

After more than a decade of war and economic collapse in his country, Syrians remain the main nationality of asylum seekers in Europe with more than 130,000 applications. THE closely followed the afghans fleeing the spiral of security, humanitarian and financial problems that followed the Taliban takeover in August 2021, with 129,000 applications.

In Thirdly candidates for TurkeyWhat they doubled their number with 55,000 applications. Soaring inflation and “democratic rollback” are among the factors that may have caused the rise, the agency said.

In many places, reception centers are overflowing, leaving asylum seekers homeless.

FILE - Ukrainian refugees line up for food in the reception area after arriving at the main train station in Berlin, Germany, March 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, File)
FILE – Ukrainian refugees line up for food in the reception area after arriving at the main train station in Berlin, Germany, March 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, File)

The recent earthquake that killed nearly 46,000 people and left hundreds of thousands homeless in Turkey and Syria has raised fears of a possible increase in irregular border crossings into Greece. Germany earlier this month offered to temporarily ease visa restrictions for some earthquake survivors, while Spain pledged to resettle a small group of 100 vulnerable Syrian refugees from Turkey, which hosts 4 million refugees.

Venezuelans, Colombians, Bangladeshis and Georgians sought asylum in record numbers last year, as did Moroccans, Tunisians and Egyptians.. Around the 4% of asylum seekers in 2022 declared to be unaccompanied minors.

The European agency did not say which EU countries received the most applications last year. But a report on internal EU migration seen by the Associated Press lists Germany, France, Spain, Austria and Italy in the top five.

FILE - Two men share a meal at a makeshift camp outside the Petit Château reception center in Brussels, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys, File)
FILE – Two men share a meal at a makeshift camp outside the Petit Château reception center in Brussels, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys, File)

Asylum authorities issued decisions on more than 600,000 applications last year, but received even more new cases, adding to the existing backlog. Of the applications analysed, 40% obtained refugee status or subsidiary protection, mainly for Syrian, Belarusian, Eritrean, Yemeni and Malian applicants, as well as for the majority of Ukrainians who chose to seek asylum instead of temporary protection.

(with information from AP)

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