Number of asylum migrants in Europe jumps

Number of asylum migrants in Europe jumps

The number of migrants lodging asylum applications in the European Union has jumped 28 percent in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year, official figures released yesteday showed.

Between January and the end of June this year, there were 519,000 such requests made in the 27-nation bloc and associated countries Switzerland and Norway, the European Union Agency for Asylum said.

That, according to report puts the EU on track to receive more than one million asylum-seekers this year – the biggest number since 2015-2016 when it saw a huge influx, mainly Syrians fleeing the war in their country.