In the first half of 2025, applications seeking asylum in the European Union dropped by 23%, the EU's asylum agency said Monday.

The Malta-based European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) said 399,000 new applications were lodged between January and June, down 114,000, or 23%, from the same period in 2024.

Germany lost its spot as the most preferred country for asylum seekers and saw the biggest decline in asylum applications standing at a 43% drop.

It was followed by followed by Italy and Spain, which saw 25% and 13% declines, respectively.

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[–] 9 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Asylum claims are, of course, heavily driven by world events. They're also seasonal in some cases, with drops in claims during the colder and wetter months (where that's a relevant concern).

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  • [–] 6 points 1 year ago*

    From my understanding a significant portion of asylum claims in Europe came from Syrian refugees.

    In December of 2024 the former Syrian president Assad was deposed and the country has (seemingly) gotten a lot more stable since. So it makes sense that asylum claims would be down in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024.

    This is a good development. Not only does it mean that people will be able to go home in relative safety, it also takes away a lot of the ammunition (the fallout from the refugee crisis that has been ongoing since 2015) that the right-wing populists and fascists all over Europe have been using to gain power.

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