The European Union’s Commissioner for Migration, Dimitris Avramopoulos, has said there was a substantial decline in asylum applications, as evidenced by updated data issued today by the European Asylum Support Office (EASO).
In total, the number of asylum applications submitted to EU member-states, plus Switzerland and Norway in 2017 was 706,913, a 43 percentage point drop when compared to the 2016 data.
Avramopoulos said that the major drop in application numbers last year reflects the total number of migrant arrivals EU-wide.
It is the second consecutive year that asylum applications have dropped.
“Collective efforts by the EU to manage migration more effectively and protect our borders over the last years have produced results,” he said.
“The European Union will continue to constitute a continent of solidarity, tolerance, and open-mindedness. To achieve this, better joint management is needed. Today’s data show we are on the right path,” the European Commissioner said.
