EU experiences surge of asylum-seekers from Syria

The number of Syrian asylum-seekers to the EU soared 206% to 24,110 last year, overtaking Afghanistan refugees as the largest group of applicants asking for international protection.

A report published by the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) show an increase of 11% of applications from asylum seekers across the EU, but only 1% of “new” applicants, meaning that a significant number of applications were from having already applied for international protection.

EASO: Annual Report on the Situation of Asylum in the European Union 2012 http://easo.europa.eu/wp-content/uploads/EASO-Annual-Report-Final.pdf

ESO: Background Information: EU asylum applications on the rise http://www.europeansources.info/record/eu-asylum-applications-on-the-rise/

Deutsche Welle, 17.08.13: EU struggles to deal with rising refugee numbers http://dw.de/p/19RBv

Deutsche Welle, 12.09.13: The EU's hodge-podge Syrian asylum policies http://dw.de/p/19gnd

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