TIRANA, April 20 – Only 2.6 percent of Albanian asylum-seekers in EU member countries were granted asylum in 2015, according to a report published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. The figures unveil how difficult it will be to obtain asylum status for thousands of Albanians who left the country last year, mainly to Germany, in search of better life.
Among the twenty main citizenships of asylum applicants on which decisions were taken at first instance in 2015, recognition rates in the EU ranged from less than 3 percent for citizens of the Western Balkan countries to more than 97 percent for Syrians, said Eurostat.
At 2.6 percent, Albania had the highest recognition rate among Western Balkan countries in 2015 followed by Kosovo at 2.3 percent, Serbia at 1.6 percent and Macedonia at 1.1 percent.
Eurostat reports that of the 38,400 first instance decisions issued to Albanians from April to December 2015, only about 740 were positive.
Last year, the 28 EU member states granted protection status to 333,350 asylum seekers, mainly fleeing war-torn countries, an increase of 72 percent compared with 2014. Some 50 percent of the beneficiaries were Syrians, followed by Eritreans and Iraqis with 8 percent and 7 percent respectively.
Over 65,000 Albanians applied for asylum in EU countries last year accounting for 5 percent of asylum claims filed last year , according to earlier Eurostat data.
Albania was the fifth main country of origin of asylum seekers in the European Union in 2015 after Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Germany was the most attractive destination for Albanian asylum seekers with 53,805 asylum claims registered, or 12 percent of all asylum seekers in Germany, the second highest number after Syria. France and Sweden received the second and third highest number of applications from Albanian nationals with 3,220 and 2,565 pending applications respectively in 2015.
Last year, Germany witnessed a surge in asylum claims from Albanian nationals after rumors spread that the country needed workers. However, chances asylum will be granted for Albanian citizens are exceptionally low as the country has been designated as a safe country of origin by German authorities.
