EASO publishes its annual report on the EU+ asylum situation in 2016

Today, the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) published its annual report 2016.

This report provides an overview of the number and nature of applications for international protection in all EU Member States plus Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Lichtenstein (the EU+). The report analyses asylum trends and key challenges and responses during the year. Major institutional and legal developments are also discussed. Furthermore, the report shows how the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) functions in practice.

Key findings

  • In 2016, almost 1.3 million applications for international protection were made in the EU+, This was a 7 % decrease compared to 2015.
  • The highest numbers of asylum applicants recorded in 2016 in the EU+ were citizens of Syria, followed by Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan and Nigeria. The main receiving countries were Germany, Italy, France, Greece and Austria.
  • In 2016, more than 65,000 unaccompanied minors applied for asylum, 37 % less than the previous year. 37 % of these applications were lodged by Afghan nationals.
  • In 2016, close to 1.15 million first-instance decisions were taken, almost twice as much as in 2015.
  • Several EU countries restructured their internal asylum system and amended their policies in several areas.
  • EASO continued its operational support to Greece, Italy, Cyprus and Bulgaria and continued the relocation programme launched in September 2015.

More information: www.easo.europa.eu

05 July 2017

Information about the asylum procedure, tailored to the asylum seeker, can be found at : asyluminbelgium.be.