‘Coming to a small boat near you?’

EU’s asylum applications are up by TWO-THIRDS in 5 years and broke 1 MILLION last year

Montage © Facts4EU.Org 2024

Whether it’s illegal migrants detected or asylum applicants, the EU’s numbers are soaring

Last week we reported on the doubling in the annual rate of illegal migrants detected in EU countries in the last five years. Today Facts4EU.Org looks at the large rise in the latest EU asylum figures for the same period.

On Friday (19 Jul 2024) the EU Commission’s statistics agency slipped out its latest data on the rate of first-time asylum applications in EU27 countries. (Illegal migrants caught - and asylum applications made - are two different things.) Publishing important information on Fridays is common for the EU, when the news is not good.

“We do not believe Sir Keir's latest plan to give £84m of taxpayer money to Africa and the Middle East will do more than scratch the surface of the problem of illegal boat migrants. When Sir Keir talks about the ‘source’ of the problem, we suggest he might look closer to home. The immediate source of the UK’s illegal boat migrants is the EU,” says our report.

A Brexit Facts4EU.Org Series

Part I - The net rise in the population of the EU27
Part II - How it was the EU that created the UK's illegal migrant boat crisis
Part III - 66% rise in the EU’s number of first-time asylum seekers in the last 5 years (This report)
Part IV - Proportion of migrants rejected by the EU - and numbers deported

The new data shows that in the last five years, the annual number of EU asylum applicants has jumped by two-thirds and that the figure for last year alone broke the ONE MILLION barrier.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary

The 66% rise in the EU’s number of first-time asylum seekers in the last five years

2019 - 2023

2019 : 631,285
2020 : 417,070
2021 : 535,985
2022 : 873,680
2023 : 1,049,020

[Source : EU Commission statistics agency, 19 Jul 2024.]

The latest monthly numbers for this year show the trend continuing

In addition to analysing the annual figures, Facts4EU.Org looked at the latest monthly numbers for this year (2024). The situation is getting worse. In April 2024 (the last month for which figures are available), the number was 12% higher than the same month last year, and 42% higher than the year before that.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary

The latest monthly numbers for this year show the trend continuing

2022 - 2024

Apr 2022 : 54,115
Apr 2023 : 68,535
Apr 2024 : 76,695

[Source : EU Commission statistics agency, 19 Jul 2024.]

If a migrant claims asylum in a safe EU country, does that mean he will NOT try to come to the UK?

No. In most cases a migrant is obliged to claim asylum in whichever (safe) EU country’s border he crosses, or whichever (safe) EU country he is detected in. If he is in the majority who are subsequently refused asylum, he has three choices :-

Face the threat of deportation
Disappear into the black economy
Head for the beaches of northern France for onward travel by small boat to the UK

Consequently the greater the number of first-time asylum applicants the EU has, the greater the chance that a proportion of these will end up on small boats crossing the English Channel.

Waiting in the wings – the backlog of applications awaiting a decision

The EU’s number of pending asylum applications continues to grow and grow.

The latest figures show the bloc had 1,173,370 applications backed up in the system, on which they still have to make a decision. As the numbers of new applications rise, inevitably the backlog will also continue to grow.

Sir Keir’s latest solution to the small boats crisis?

Side-stepping any criticism of the EU at the ‘European Political Community’ summit at Blenheim Palace on Thursday, Prime Minister Starmer announced that he wanted to go back to ‘the source’ of the problem. He intends to give African and Middle East countries £84m to improve various local amenities and thereby try to persuade more of their citizens not to head for Europe.

“To stop illegal migration, we must also tackle it at source.
“Today I’m announcing £84 million of new funding for projects across Africa and the Middle East – that includes humanitarian and health support, skills training, help with job opportunities and access to education.”
- Sir Keir Starmer, Blenheim Palace, 18 July 2024

As numbers of illegal migrants so far this year are already at their highest levels since records began, it seems highly unlikely this new policy will have any effect any time soon. The biggest problem is in the millions of illegal migrants and asylum seekers already massed in the EU – and the impact this will have on numbers crossing the Channel to the UK.

Observations

Last week it was our report on the record numbers of illegal EU migrants detected by the EU that made the news. Today it is this report on the record numbers of EU asylum seekers, an advance copy of which was given to GB News at their request. Neither reports bode well for any reduction in the numbers queueing up to cross the Channel to the UK.

Does Sir Keir’s announcement hold out any prospect of reducing the problem and stopping the boats?

We do not believe this will do more than scratch the surface of the problem. Unless the EU secures its borders, huge numbers will continue to come in, and the number of the UK’s illegal boat migrants will continue to rise. When Sir Keir talks about the ‘source’ of the problem, we suggest he might look closer to home. The immediate source of the UK’s illegal boat migrants is the EU.

We continue to hold the EU responsible, for failing to secure its borders over many years, and for refusing to take back any of its illegal migrants.

NOTICE : Facts4EU is now scaling back, to publishing 5 days-a-week

For over eight years we have worked seven days-a-week. As far as we are aware we are the only organisation of our type to have done this. We are grateful to those of our readers who have made donations but sadly the level of our funding is now such that we must make it stretch for as long as we can. This means team members taking other paid work and reducing our output to five days-a-week.

Please, please help us to carry on our vital work in defence of independence, sovereignty, democracy and freedom by donating today. Thank you.

[ Sources: EU Commission | European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Mon 22 Jul 2024

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Reader Comments 8

1. Sparky , Monday, July 22, 2024, 07:09:

The three largest countries of source into the EU and over a third of the total:
.
Syria 184,585
Afghanistan 101,190
Turkey 90,500
.
The first two are due to the mess left by the USA and UK.
The third, Turkey, people are leaving because of the poor Human Rights record in Turkey. This reveals one of the behest lies of Brexit that Turkey was going join the EU and millions of Turkish people would flood to the UK.

2. Robert Mcdonald , Monday, July 22, 2024, 07:52:

Sparky. The mess is entirely down to Merkel welcoming all migrants into Europe. Biden walking away from Afghanistan didn’t help.

3. Ashley Great Britain , Monday, July 22, 2024, 09:04:

Time after time our political figures show that they are incapable of securing our borders. They rather like the numbers coming in and they don't want to appear too strong and uncaring. This money could be used in the English channel to detect and return or prevent the boats leaving France. Uk border "force" (welcome service) could use fast boats and technology to prevent dinghies leaving France, even right upto French beaches. The french would be annoyed but wouldn't and couldn't actually do anything.That's what the french would do if the tables were turned. We would only need to do it for a week or two then monitor from half way line.
There are many things the UK Gov can do but they just have no guts in this modern softy world.
Incidentally our foes are only getting stronger.

4. NH , Monday, July 22, 2024, 09:11:

1. Sparky, "mess left by the USA and UK."
An EU country sold a nuclear reactor to Iraq which hugely destabilised the region. They also provided long term military support to Iraq both before and after the Iran Iraq war.
.
Was the UK involved with the Soviet Afghan war, the Yom Kippur war, the 6 Day war, the Iran Iraq war, the Lebanese Civil war, the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, State sponsorship of terrorism by many middle Eastern countries ? Much of the Middle East was a complete mess before the USA and UK were involved. They became involved to try and stop terrorism. The countries in the Middle East that the UK cooperates with are mostly peaceful and prosperous.
.
People are leaving Turkey because they have hyperinflation of 83%. They are economic migrants who know that the EU puts the rights of "asylum seekers" above the rights of their own citizens.

5. Sparky , Monday, July 22, 2024, 09:27:

2 RM. Biden did pull out of Afghanistan on the deal Trump created.
.
4 NH. Attempts to draw both Iran and USSR into the western community was a mistake in hind site. So was the search for WMD in Iraq. The 1st Gulf War was justified, the 2nd wasn’t.
.
They are leaving Turkey for fear of persecution and mistreatment.
.
This migrant crisis needs to be dealt with but will only be solved at its source not by blaming the EU and other countries.

6. NH , Monday, July 22, 2024, 09:56:

5. Sparky, "migrant crisis needs to be dealt with but will only be solved at its source"
What a brilliant idea !
If kier Starmer can solve the problems in Syria, Afghanistan, Turkey, Palestine, Libya, Somalia, Eritrea, Ukraine, Iran, Bangladesh, Tunisia, Egypt, Venezuela, Colombia, Iraq, Yemen, etc. then the problem will be solved. All he has to do is solve their problems and turn them into wealthy countries. Why has nobody thought of this before ?

7. LuxuryBalloon , Monday, July 22, 2024, 11:40:

Facts4EU claims that immigrants who have refused asylum by the EU have 3 choices:
1/ Face the threat of deportation
2/ Disappear into the black economy
3/ Head for the beaches of northern France for onward travel by small boat to the UK.
The actual choices are only option 1/ and 2/. When an illegal immigrant chooses option 2/ he or she has a follow-up decision where to join the black economy. The UK has a thriving black economy and does not require to carry proof of identity (unlike many EU countries). Hence it is not surprising that many illegal immigrants chose the UK to work in the black economy. Instead of desperately trying to stop the boats, the UK should make it harder for immigrants to join the UK black economy.

8. Gazzablack , Monday, July 22, 2024, 14:40:

1, sparkless
.
You're testiculating again sparky.
.
1, Syria endured a civil war that was prompted by Syrians trying to emulate the Tunisian "Arab Spring" and being attacked by the Assad regime in response.
The USA and UK were not involved.
Russia and Iran were.
.
2, Afghanistan was predicated on the invocation of NATO's article 5.
(The action in Iraq was a different matter).
Though Trump had negotiated an exit deal with the Taliban, it was not Trump's deal that Biden followed.
.
3, Turkey was (and still is) an official accession candidate country, and billions of Euros are still being paid to Turkey to supposedly facilitate this accession.

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