The European Union Agency for Asylum said EU member states plus Norway and Switzerland received about 332,000 applications for international protection from January to June 2026. The 10 September mid-year report said this was the lowest first-half total since 2019 and down 17% from a year earlier; France, Italy, Spain and Germany received the most applications, Greece had the highest rate per capita, the average first-instance recognition rate was 31%, and about 770,000 cases were still pending at the end of June.
Why it matters: This is a significant Europe-wide indicator of asylum pressure, showing both a drop in new claims and a still large backlog. It matters for governments debating asylum rules, reception capacity and returns, and for advocates who argue headline numbers can obscure underlying protection needs.
Benjamin Moore
2026.09.17
100% relevant
This article is anchored to a specific new event: the EU asylum agency's 10 September 2026 mid-year statistical report on asylum trends across EU+ countries.
← Back to all stories