Asylum applications in the EU, at the lowest level of the last five years

BrusselsAsylum applications have fallen drastically in European Union countries. In the first half of 2026, requests have decreased by 17% compared to the previous year and have reached the lowest figure since 2021. This is confirmed by a report from the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) published this Thursday, which records a total of 332,000 asylum applications during the first six months of this year, reflecting a continued downward trend since the end of 2024.

The decline is mainly explained by the decrease in requests from certain nationalities. The fall in Syrian citizens to unprecedented levels stands out. Their applications were reduced by 57% compared to the same period in 2025 and by 85% compared to that of 2024. Requests from Venezuelan citizens have also fallen by almost a third, to 33,000, and those from Afghans by 7%, to 39,000.

The EUAA attributes this downward trend, in part, to the "EU's efforts to cooperate with countries of origin and transit." "The figures speak for themselves: Europe's new migration policy is delivering results. We must continue to intensify our efforts at Europe's external borders," assured the EU Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration, Magnus Brunner, on X.

The agency's own data, however, offer a more nuanced reading. The EUAA points out that the drop in applications is mainly due to specific geopolitical and legislative changes, and does not allow for the decline to be attributed directly to EU agreements with third countries. Only the drop in applications from Syrian citizens, following the end of the Bashar al-Assad regime in December 2024 and the return of refugees to Syria, accounts for nearly 40% of the overall reduction. Furthermore, it must be taken into account that the EUAA data only measure formalised asylum applications, not the number of people who attempt or manage to reach Europe.

France (69,000), Italy (66,000), Spain (55,000) and Germany (55,000) head the list of countries where applications were filed. Together, they received nearly three-quarters of all asylum applications. For its part, Greece, with only 23,000, has the highest ratio of applications per capita, with one file for every 400 residents.

During this period, less than a third of the applications had a favorable response in the first instance. Specifically, in 31% of cases, international protection was granted. Processing has also tightened with the entry into force, this June, of the new asylum procedures regulation. The new regulations provide for accelerated procedures for applicants from countries considered safe or with a historically very low rate of protection recognition.

During the first half of 2026, 56% of applicants came from countries that fall under some of these assumptions. Among them are citizens of Bangladesh, Egypt, or Venezuela, who have recognition rates of less than 5%. This does not prevent them from requesting protection, but it does make it more likely that their case will be processed via an accelerated procedure.

The effect of regularization in Spain

The report also identifies another factor that helps explain the drop in applications: the migrant regularization process promoted by Spain. According to the EUAA, this mechanism has offered migrants "potentially an alternative path to legal residence and employment" without having to resort to the asylum procedure, a fact that would have contributed to the reduction of files, especially for Venezuelan citizens.

Venezuelans are, in fact, the nationality that has submitted the most asylum applications in Spain. During the first half of the year, they registered nearly 33,000 in the EU, 93% of which were formalized in the State. The forecast that Madrid will stop granting national protection to Venezuelans after June 2026 has also caused applications to fall.