EU sees spike in asylum applications as total set to surpass 1 million this year

The European Union saw a jump of almost a third in asylum applications in the first half of this year, new figures show. There were 519,000 applications in the 27-member bloc plus Switzerland and Norway from January to June 2023, according to the European Union Agency for Asylum. This is an increase of 28 percent compared to the same period last year and the highest level since the refugee crisis of 2015-16. The agency said that applications could exceed one million by the end of 2023 based on the figures as the volume is typically higher in the second half of the year. The total is in addition to the estimated four million people fleeing the war in Ukraine . Syrians, Afghans, Venezuelans, Turks and Colombians made up 44 percent of the applications in the first half of 2023. Germany received the biggest number of applications at 30 percent. Spain had 17 percent, while France had the third highest at 16 percent. Meanwhile, there were 682,000 cases awaiting a first instance decision at the end of June 2023, up 34 percent from last year. Based on initial decisions, some 41 percent of applicants receive refugee status or another kind of protection. It comes as the bloc remains split on the issue of migration with internal rows raging. Last month it emerged Brussels had reportedly rejected a migrant returns deal with Britain . Prime Minister Rishi Sunak wants an agreement to deter people from making the dangerous journey across the Channel in small boats.