EU asylum applications down 23%

Asylum applications to the European Union fell by 23 percent in the first six months of 2025, driven by a massive drop in Syrians seeking protection, the EU's asylum agency said Monday.
Data from the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) showed Syrians lodged around 25,000 requests in the 27-nation bloc plus Switzerland and Norway (EU+), down 66 percent on the same period last year.
“This remarkable reduction is hardly due to policy changes in the EU+,” EUAA said in a report, crediting instead the ouster of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad.
“With the new Syrian authorities advocating for stability and reconstruction, many displaced Syrians have evidently become more hopeful about returning to rebuild their communities”.
Syrians, who long accounted for the most applicants, were now the third largest group, behind Venezuelans and Afghans.
In turn Germany was overtaken by France and Spain as the leading destinations for asylum seekers. AFP