Number of asylum applications in Europe plunged by 87% in April to its lowest level since 2008 because of coronavirus lockdown measures, European agency reveals
- Just 8,370 applications for asylum were lodged in Europe in April – a 12-year low
- It is also a huge fall from applications made in January and February of this year
- An EU report said that coronavirus pandemic lockdown measures caused the fall
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
The number of asylum applications in Europe plunged 87% in April to a 12-year low because of coronavirus lockdown measures.
The EU’s asylum coordination agency revealed just 8,370 applications were registered that month, the lowest number since 2008.
It was also a massive fall from numbers in both January and February, before most countries across the world began to shutter borders in an attempt to slow the spread of the killer bug.
A report also found that some countries had exploited the pandemic to clear a backlog of cases.
Refugees and migrants wearing masks wait to board a bus in Piraeus near Athens in May after Greek authorities said they would move 400 migrants to the mainland to help ease overcrowded conditions at camp Moria
The 8,370 applications cover those lodged for asylum in EU countries as well as Norway and Switzerland, but exclude Britain which is no longer an EU member.
Syrians and Afghans continued make the most applications, together accounting for 28% of the total, though these numbers were much reduced compared to pre-COVID levels in January, a report said.
But the decline was even sharper for Venezuelans, down 99%, and Colombians, down 98%, the agency added.
‘Before the COVID outbreak, these citizenships were among the most important citizenships of asylum applicants,’ it said.
The agency said that the plummet in applications would not necessarily indicate a long-term trend.
‘It is worth mentioning that, before the outbreak, there were persistently high levels of asylum applications, among the highest in the past two years,’ the report said.
‘Therefore, the months of March and April were not truly indicative of the situation of asylum-related migration to the EU+ and heavily affected by the pandemic containment measures.
‘It not unreasonable to assume that applications may surge once the COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.’
The report also revealed how EU ‘countries exploited the pandemic to reduce part of the backlog previously accumulated’.