The head of the EU asylum agency, Nina Gregori, has said she expects the bloc to see a continued increase in the number of asylum applications, in an interview with Germany’s Funke media group.

“It is pretty clear that the rising application numbers will continue in the foreseeable future,” said Gregori, the director of the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA).

Instability and threats to human security were features of today’s world, she said, adding: “Unfortunately they are not temporary.”

Geopolitical developments in the last two years had a direct impact on the need for international protection, leading to increased displacement to EU countries, Gregori said.

Between January and October this year, nearly 790,000 asylum applications were made in the EU, she said – an increase of 54% compared to the same period last year. This remained below the highs of 2015 and 2016, she noted.

According to the EUAA, most asylum applicants came from Syria, Afghanistan and Turkey.

War refugees from Ukraine do not have to go through a lengthy asylum procedure in the EU. They have been receiving temporary protection since shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine began. According to Gregori, 4.7 million people have been registered for this.

The activation of these temporary rules had prevented the collapse of Europe’s national asylum systems, Gregori said.

However, the millions of registrations had put European reception systems “under considerable pressure.”

Gregori called for progress on planned EU asylum and migration reforms. She said she welcomed a declaration at EU level that structural solutions would be found before the 2024 EU elections.

“Progress on these issues will be important,” she noted.

Source: dpa/MIA