On February 28, it was reported that 1,142,618 people applied for asylum in the European Union (EU), a 7 year record. The highest number recorded was 1,315,466, during the 2015 refugee crisis.
Syrians and Afghans were the two largest applicant groups.
Frontex, the European Union’s border protection agency reported that 2023 had the highest number of irregular border crossings since 2016.
The EU has recently enacted policies designed to reduce the influx of immigrants into the EU as well as to evenly spread the cost of housing migrants across member states.
This comes as far-right parties have gained ground in governments across Europe, as anti-immigration sentiments continue to rise across Europe.
