According to EU data, the number of asylum applications in Germany has decreased more significantly than the European average. However, a sharp increase in refugees from one country may
soon be expected.
Berlin. The European Union Asylum Agency (EUAA) recorded 24 percent fewer asylum applications in Germany between early January and the end of September. This was reported by "Welt am Sonntag," citing unpublished figures from the EU asylum agency.
The data comes from a confidential report by the European Commission dated October 3, 2024, on the state of migration in the EU and third countries (Integrated Situation Awareness and Analysis, Report No. 430). According to the newspaper, they have access to this report.
According to the report, nearly one in three asylum seekers in Germany comes from Syria (30 percent). A significant number of asylum seekers also come from Afghanistan (15 percent) and Turkey (13 percent).
Germany Continues to Lead in Asylum Applications in the EU
In the European comparison, Germany remains the country with the most asylum applications (170,574), followed by Spain (122,096), Italy (117,042), and France (115,652). The fewest asylum applications were recorded in Hungary (21), Slovakia (121), and Lithuania (284). Austria saw a particularly sharp decline in asylum applications (18,984), where the number of protection requests more than halved (57 percent).
In total, 739,735 asylum applications were submitted in the EU, as well as in Norway and Switzerland, during the first nine months of this year (January 1, 2024, to September 30, 2024) — a decrease of 8.0 percent compared to the same period last year.
As "Welt am Sonntag" further reported, the European Commission's confidential report also warns of a potential wave of refugees from Lebanon to the EU. The document on the current migration situation in Europe states: "Given the large number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon (nearly 1.5 million) and the deteriorating humanitarian situation for the entire population of Lebanon, the number of those fleeing across the border is likely to increase further."
According to the EU report, by September 29, 345,000 people were internally displaced in Lebanon as a result of the war between Israel and Hezbollah. Around 100,000 people had fled to Syria by the end of September. Photo by Mstyslav Chernov, Wikimedia commons.