Ukrainian Asylum Applications Tick Up In EU

Ukrainian asylum applications tick up in EU

Applications in the European Union for asylum from Ukrainians have jumped in recent months, the EU agency involved in the claims said Tuesday, although it did not say why

Brussels, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 20th Apr, 2021 ) :Applications in the European Union for asylum from Ukrainians have jumped in recent months, the EU agency involved in the claims said Tuesday, although it did not say why.

In February there were 971 applications, an increase of 72 percent compared to the month before, making Ukrainians "one of the top 10 nationalities of applicants," the European Asylum Support Office said.

The increase came amid soaring tensions between Russia and Ukraine and was all the more notable given that overall asylum claims in the EU have slumped during the coronavirus pandemic.

In 2020, requests in EU member states and affiliated countries such as Switzerland and Norway plummeted to their lowest level in eight years, to a total of 461,300.

In February 2021 the total number of applications, 38,300, was less than two-thirds the level of a year earlier, EASO said.

Applications from non-accompanied minors, however, remained around the same level as before the pandemic, at 1,300.

France is the country receiving the highest number of Ukrainian asylum applications, an EASO spokeswoman said.

She added that Eurostat figures showed that in November, France received 59 percent of the 765 Ukrainian requests made across the bloc and associated countries that month.

"EASO does not have information on the reason for the sudden increase in applications by Ukrainians," she told AFP.