Asylum applications continued to increase, reaching their highest levels since 2015. For the first time since 2015/16, asylum applications reached or exceeded the 100 000 mark in the EU+ for several consecutive months, starting in September, as reported by the EUAA. Asylum applications and registrations for temporary protection together surpassed five million before the end of 2022.

Several EU Member States reported increasing their reception capacity. In Belgium, the government granted additional funding to the Brussels Capital to cover the costs of emergency accommodation and several reception centres were created, as for some months there has been a struggle to find sufficient accommodation. France reinforced the capacity of temporary accommodation centres by creating an additional 1 000 new places for vulnerable refugees who lack autonomy, accompanied with social support towards employment and housing. Luxembourg reopened a temporary accommodation structure with a capacity of 190 places for a mixed population.

In October, Germany launched a federal admission programme for particularly vulnerable Afghans, where the prospect of admission to Germany was extended to over 40 000 particularly vulnerable Afghans and their eligible family members.

New procedures were introduced for processing international protection applications. Ireland established procedures to accelerate the application process. All applicants now need to complete a preliminary interview and complete a questionnaire regarding their application. In Sweden, the government tasked the Swedish Migration Agency to reduce the number of quota of refugees from 5 000 per year to 900 in 2023. Regarding applications from Afghanistan, being a woman is now taken as sufficient grounds to be granted protection in Sweden.

In Italy, a new computer application (the SMAcc platform) was released that will provide access to shared assessment tools and methodologies, as well as supply a national database to monitor activities taking place at national level.

In Spain, a new protocol was introduced to combat cases of gender-based violence. In Georgia, awareness raising was conducted in the asylum seekers’ reception centre on the issues of gender-based violence.

In Georgia and Montenegro, exchange of good practices continued. Representatives from both countries visited Finland to discuss best practices on efficient asylum procedures, reception standards, integration, and sustainable solutions. Georgia hosted an official delegation from Tajikistan to introduce its asylum system and share good practices in the area of international protection. In Montenegro, an EUAA regional training was held for employees from the national asylum department.

Figure 1: Asylum applications in the EU-27, Q3 2022 (January-September 2022) 

Source: Eurostat [migr_asyappctzm], total asylum applicants, extracted on 12 January 2023.