Asylum: EASO, applications EU-wide down to pre-crisis levels in 2018. Most of them lodged in Germany, France, Greece, Italy

(Brussels) According to the report released today by the European Asylum Support Office (EASO), most applications for asylum were lodged in Germany, France, Greece, Italy and Spain. “Together, these five countries accounted for almost three quarters of all applications lodged in the EU”. Germany received the most applications (184,180) for the seventh consecutive year, despite a 17% decrease compared to 2017. Applications in France increased for the fourth consecutive year, reaching 120,425 in 2018, “the highest level recorded in France so far”. Greece became the country with the third-highest number of applications lodged, increasing for the fifth consecutive year (66,965 applications). “At the end of 2018, pending cases remained high, with approximately 896,560 applications awaiting a final decision”. Finally, in the first five months of 2019, more than 290,000 applications for international protection were registered in the EU. “This equates to an 11% increase over the same period in 2018”. Syria, Afghanistan, but also Venezuela, were among the main countries of origin of applicants.