Asylum applications in the European Union fell by approximately 12% in 2024, according to a new report by the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA). The Malta-based agency recorded just over one million initial applications last year across the 27 EU member nations, along with Norway and Switzerland. This marks a decrease from 1.14 million applications in 2023, based on the report seen by German news agency DPA and the newspaper Welt am Sonntag.
Germany, which traditionally receives a significant number of asylum seekers, reported 235,925 initial applications in 2024. Despite this substantial figure, the country experienced a notable decrease of 30.2% in asylum applications compared to 2023, according to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF).
The EUAA report highlighted that most asylum seekers in the EU originated from Syria (15%), Afghanistan (8.7%), Venezuela (7.3%), and Türkiye (5.5%). Germany’s statistics reflected this trend, with the majority of applicants coming from Syria, Afghanistan, and Türkiye.
Spain ranked second among European countries with the most asylum applications, registering 165,398 applicants. Following Spain were France with 158,512 applications and Italy with 154,824.
In stark contrast, Hungary received only 29 new asylum applications in 2024. This comes amid ongoing tensions between Brussels and Budapest over Hungary’s compliance with EU asylum laws. In June 2024, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) fined Hungary $205 million for violating EU regulations by unlawfully detaining asylum seekers and deporting them before they could appeal the rejection of their applications.
Migration continues to be a significant issue for voters in the upcoming German election scheduled for February. The far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD) has been gaining ground with its anti-immigrant rhetoric, influencing the national debate on asylum and immigration policies.
