By A. S.
Mass migration to Europe continues, with the number of migrants doubling this year compared to 2021, according to Remix News. On 14 June, 339,984 asylum applications had already been registered in the European Union, 92% more than the number of applications at the same time last year, according to the European Union Asylum Agency (EUAA).
Despite the war in Ukraine, which has triggered a wave of Ukrainian refugees, only a small fraction of asylum seekers are from Eastern Europe – around 22,700, or 6.7 percent. A special rule allows Ukrainians to be granted temporary refugee status without an asylum procedure because of the war.
The majority of asylum seekers thus come from muslim countries. They include 42,900 Afghans and 34,900 Syrians who applied for asylum in the EU area in the first five months of this year. According to the data from the aforementioned Asylum Agency, they are mostly going to Germany. But there are also 22 900 Venezuelans, most of whom want to go to Spain.
According to the German Federal Office for Migration (BAMF), the Syrians have mostly lived in Greece for several years after coming from their first safe country, Turkey. Many now want to return to Germany for a higher standard of living and are therefore reapplying for asylum. Germany also now recognises the lack of social security in other EU countries as a legitimate reason for granting asylum. This means that if an applicant complains about inadequate accommodation and care, Germany will grant them status and allow them to stay. The current government of the Semaphore coalition led by the Social Democrats also wants to introduce fast-track citizenship, which means that migrants can apply for citizenship after only three years of residence.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
