According to the European Agency, this drop means that the recognition rate has reached its lowest level ever, partly explained by the decrease in the number of applications made by Syrian citizens after the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in December 2024.

In the wake of political changes in Syria, there were "far fewer Syrians [who] applied for asylum during the first half of 2025," which also resulted in Syrians no longer being the main nationality in asylum applications in the European Union.

According to the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUA), Venezuelans and Afghans became the citizens who filed the most asylum applications in the first six months of 2025.

"With fewer Syrians applying for asylum, Germany ceased to be the top EU destination; France and Spain received the most applications in the first half of 2025, while Greece and Cyprus received the highest number of applications per capita," the EUA states.

It also notes that the number of cases awaiting a first-instance decision remained at near-record levels, with 918,000 pending at the end of June 2025.

"The total number of cases, including those under appeal or review, awaiting a decision at the end of May 2025 (the most recent data) is estimated to be approximately 1.3 million," the report states.

He adds that, by the end of June 2025, there were approximately 4.5 million beneficiaries of temporary protection in the EU who fled Ukraine after the Russian invasion, with "half being welcomed in Germany and Poland," although the Czech Republic hosted the highest number of beneficiaries per capita.

Quoted in the statement accompanying the report, European Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner explained the decrease in the number of asylum applications as a result of the Pact on Migration and Asylum, which introduced "more efficient procedures," particularly for applications with a low chance of success, so that they "are processed more effectively."

According to Brunner, other proposals "will strengthen cooperation with third countries, ensuring effective returns and relieving pressure on asylum systems."

Analysing the last ten years, the report's data shows that in 2015 and 2016, Europe received around 3 million migrants and asylum seekers, during the period known as the refugee crisis. This number fell to just over 673,000 in 2017 and less than half a million in 2020, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

From then on, the number continued to rise, surpassing 1.1 million applicants in 2023, before falling again in 2024, albeit slightly, to just over one million.

Between January and July 2025, the EU received nearly 400,000 migrants and asylum seekers, including a growing number of Venezuelan citizens due to the "deep economic and political crisis in Venezuela," but also around 42,000 Afghans.

Meanwhile, the percentage of people who applied for asylum and were granted that status remained at 40% over the past three years and “fell to 25%” during the first half of 2025, a phenomenon “driven by a sharp drop in decisions issued to Syrian applicants.”