Coronavirus measures led to 12-year low in asylum requests in Europe: Report

COVID-19 related travel restrictions and health measures during the past few months led to a dramatic cut in asylum applications in Europe, falling to the lowest level since 2008, said the EU's asylum coordination agency on June 11. The European Asylum Support Office (EASO) said in its special report that 0nly 8,730 asylum applications were registered in the EU+ in April, a massive 87% decrease from pre-COVID-19 levels in January and February.

However, the agency highlighted that there were almost 10 times as many applications for asylum as detected illegal border crossings into the EU+ in April. It said that despite the temporary suspension of certain asylum activities in many EU+ countries, some countries did continue lodging applications.

The agency noted that applications from Latin American countries like Venezuela and Colombia, one of the top countries of origin in recent years, were almost negligible. In the case of Venezuelans, applicants dropped from 5,013 in January to 80 in April, while Colombians registered 5,272 applications in January and just 64 in April.

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Rise in application expected

EASO expects a rise in asylum applications as travel restrictions are beginning to ease and May has already witnessed a gradual rise in the number of applicants. The agency said that EU+ countries should be prepared for increases in asylum applications in the medium term, amplified by the repercussions of COVID-19 on low-income countries.

The report highlighted the COVID-19 effects on the push and pull factors of asylum seekers, especially after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for a global ceasefire to facilitate humanitarian access amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It said that only a few countries with an ongoing conflict positively responded to the appeal, and ceasefire initiatives have mainly taken the form of temporary arrangements with no detailed provisions or external monitoring.

“Those who crossed borders looking for refuge now have additional problems because travel restrictions designed to slow transmission rates have disrupted traditional migration routes,” the report said.

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(Representational Image: AP)