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A total of 37,800 people sought international protection in the European Union countries in May 2021, according to the recent report of the European Asylum Support Office (EASO).

The agency revealed that the main origin countries in May 2021 were Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, stressing that Afghans logged more applications for the third consecutive month, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

According to the report, citizens from West African countries accounted for a significant number of applications filed for international protection in the European Union countries in May 2021.

The agency revealed that Moroccans, Tunisians, and Algerians lodged surprisingly few applications over the past 12 months, even though many nationals of these countries attempted to reach European countries in an unlawful way.

Nationals of Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria have been the most prominent after Syrians in terms of illegal border-crossings detected at the external EU border over the past 12 months. Anyway, they lodged fewer asylum applications during the same period than the number of detected illegal border-crossings, the statement clarifies.

On the other hand, asylum applications were higher than illegal border-crossings for all other main origin countries, indicating that many citizens of Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria who unlawfully entered the European Union countries didnt apply for international protection possibly due to low recognition rates for these nationalities.

The report reveals that West Africans accounted for a large number of applications lodged for international protection in the EU countries (5,500 applications) in May. Nigerians filed a total of 1,300 applications in May, remaining the most significant group among West Africans.

The relatively high number of asylum applications by West Africans partly reflects increased irregular migration on the Western African road towards the Canary Islands, the report reads.

In May, self-claimed unaccompanied minors filed 1,500 applications for international protection in EU countries, representing 4 per cent of applications filed in May. More than two-fifths of applications were from Afghans, followed by Syrians and Bangladeshis.

In May, asylum authorities in European Union countries issued 41,500 first instance decisions.

This was lower than in April (- 17 per cent) as far fewer decisions were issued on repeated applications, which had been numerous in recent months, the statement reads.

However, despite the decline, the number of first instance decisions issued exceeded the number of applications.

The recognition rate in the EU countries in May 2021 was 32 per cent. The recognition rates were especially high for Eritreans (80 per cent), Syrians (75 per cent), and Somalis (59 per cent).

Previously, the EASO report revealed that in 2020, a total of 48,578 Afghans applied for asylum in the European Union countries, remaining the second-largest group of applicants in the EU.

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EASO: 37,800 People Applied for International Protection in EU Countries in May - SchengenVisaInfo.com - SchengenVisaInfo.com