site.btaQ2 First-time Asylum Seekers in Bulgaria up by 27% from Q1 - European Commission

Q2 First-time Asylum Seekers in Bulgaria up by 27% from Q1 - European Commission

Brussels, September 18 (BTA Correspondent Nikolay Jeliazkov) - The number of first-time asylum-seekers in Bulgaria in the second quarter of the current year has increased by 27 per cent compared to the first quarter, the European Commission said Friday citing Eurostat data.

A total of 3,190 have sought asylum in Bulgaria from January to March, and another 4,050 from April to June. This amounts to 1.9 per cent of the first-time asylum-seekers in the EU. Most of the migrants are from Syria (1,930), Iraq (1,085) and Afghanistan (775).

From April to June 2015, 213,200 first-time asylum-seekers applied for protection in the European Union, and the numbers are rising.

One in three migrants is applying for protection in Germany. Second comes Hungary, followed by Austria, Italy, France, and Sweden. A total of 592,000 asylum applications are awaiting to be resolved in the EU.