EU+ Asylum Applications Fell 17% as New EU Rules Took Effect

European Union asylum authorities recorded about 332,000 applications for international protection across the EU+ area in the first half of 2026, 17% fewer than in the same period of 2025 and the lowest first-half total since 2021.

The European Union Agency for Asylum released the figures on September 10, less than three months after the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum began applying on June 12. The timing is important, but the figures do not establish that the pact caused the decline. EUAA said the review is the final dataset under the previous asylum rules, although the reference period includes June 12 through June 30, when the new rules were already applicable.

What changed on June 12

The pact created common procedures for registering and screening irregular arrivals and introduced mandatory border procedures and accelerated examination for specified categories of applicants.

Under the new framework, people who cross EU borders irregularly or are apprehended inside the territory can be subject to identity, security, health and vulnerability checks. Screening must generally be completed within seven days at an external border or three days for people apprehended inside a member state. Authorities then direct applicants to a border, asylum or return procedure.

Border procedures are mandatory in specified circumstances, including for applicants considered unlikely to qualify for international protection, people who present security risks or people who mislead authorities. The system also includes reception standards, legal counselling and independent monitoring requirements. These are legal and administrative procedures; they do not mean that every asylum seeker will be detained or rejected.

When the relevant conditions are met, applicants from countries with an EU-wide first-instance recognition rate below 20% can fall within the border and accelerated procedures. EUAA said nearly 56% of applications in the first half came from citizenships meeting at least one of the applicable criteria.

A decline with several possible causes

EUAA described the fall as part of a trend that began in late 2024. The agency linked the change to shifting nationality patterns, Syria’s fragile but continuing political transition and EU cooperation with countries of origin and transit. It also said that the escalation of hostilities in the Middle East had not translated into an increase in EU+ asylum applications during the period.

The largest nationality groups did not all move in the same direction. Afghan applications fell 7% year over year to about 39,000, while Venezuelan applications fell by almost one-third to about 33,000. Applications from Bangladesh increased 13% to roughly 20,000.

Those patterns make it too early to treat the lower total as a direct measure of the pact’s effectiveness. Later EUAA releases covering periods fully under the new system will provide a better basis for judging whether the rules changed application flows, processing speed or outcomes.

Four countries received most applications

France recorded about 69,000 applications in the first half of the year, followed by Italy with 66,000 and Spain and Germany with about 55,000 each. Together, those four countries received around three-quarters of all applications in the EU+ reporting area.

In this context, “EU+” refers to the EU member states and associated countries covered by EUAA asylum reporting. Applications are not the same measure as irregular arrivals. Nor do they show how many people received protection, were returned or remained in the EU.

The backlog remains the immediate test

The EU+ first-instance recognition rate was 31% in the first half of 2026. That means fewer than one-third of first-instance decisions resulted in international protection. It is not a final outcome after appeals or other national forms of protection.

At the end of June, about 770,000 cases were pending at first instance. Across administrative and judicial stages, the combined caseload was about 1.18 million. Older cases accounted for 73% of the first-instance caseload, up from 68% a year earlier, even though the overall first-instance backlog was 8% lower than a year earlier.

The practical question for the new system is therefore not simply whether applications decline. Member states must show that screening and faster procedures can reduce older cases while preserving access to protection, legal advice, reception standards and appeals.

What to watch next

Future EUAA data will be needed to measure the pact’s effects. Key indicators include processing times, use of border procedures, returns, recognition rates, national implementation capacity and whether the backlog falls without weakening safeguards for people seeking protection.

Sources

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