Asylum applications in the EU fall by 23 percent

Brussels – Asylum applications in the European Union declined by 23 percent in the first six months of the year compared to the previous year, according to figures released by the European Union Asylum Agency (EUAA). The European body noted that, between January and June, the 27 EU member states plus Norway and Switzerland received 399,000 asylum applications, compared to 518,000 in the first half of 2024. 

It is the lowest figure since 2021, when the EU and the world were still struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic. Italy follows the trend with -25 percent, but the most significant drop is in Germany (-43 percent). Also in the first half of 2025, Spain and France proved to be the most welcoming EU member states, surpassing Germany, which for years topped this ranking.The reduction in Syrian migration (-66 percent) drove the contraction. The fall of Syrian President Bashshār al-Assad changed the flows. European countries considered it appropriate to temporarily halt the processing of applications until more certain information was available from the security point of view of the new Syria of Aḥmad al-Shara. 

Venezuela has thus become the country of origin with the highest number of applications, with almost 100,000. More than 90 percent of Venezuelans who arrived in Europe in 2025 applied in Spain. The advantage for them is that they can count on a shared language and an already large community. Spain, thanks to a targeted migration policy, is compensating for the demographic contraction with the arrival of citizens from Latin America. Indeed, in recent years, Madrid has experienced a slight but steady increase in population, now standing at around 3.8 million.

The migration picture in Italy is different. The most rapidly expanding communities are those of Bengali and Pakistani descent. Seventy-four percent of the asylum applications of Bangladeshi nationals in the EU were filed in Italy, as were 52% of those from Pakistan. The influx of people from Morocco and Nigeria was also significant. In total, Italy received 64,000 asylum applications, a stable figure compared to the previous year. 

The EU+ recognition rate – that is, the percentage of applications for international protection granted in EU and associated countries – stood at 25 percent, the lowest figure since records began. According to the EUAA, “it does not reflect a stricter interpretation of protection needs but is owed to procedural factors.” For example, the agency explains, “when Syrians withdraw their applications, some national authorities record this, statistically, as a negative decision.” The new European rules, which are expected to come into force in 2026, will streamline the procedure: the process will take a maximum of 12 weeks, and the repatriation mechanism will be expedited by a system common to all 27 member states.