(Deutsche Welle) The number of asylum applications to the European Union has risen over the past two years. While there were just under 1 million in 2022, the European Union Agency for Asylum has predicted that this mark could now have hit the highest number since 2015, the year in which [an] especially large number of people came to Europe and former German Chancellor Angela Merkel coined the slogan: “We can do this!”
Of those seeking protection, more than 350,000 entered the EU irregularly (without permission) in the first 11 months of 2023, according to EU border protection agency Frontex.
But irregular migration only accounts for a fraction of all migration to the 27 member states, according to the EU Commission. By contrast, almost 3.5 million people migrated to the EU in 2022 as refugees with asylum status, or to pursue education or a job, for example.
