Press Release: Dying to get to Europe: nearly 450,000 asylum seekers a year make their way to EU

Asylum applications in the EU were up by some 100,000 in 2013 compared to the year before, while at least 600 people were believed to have died while trying to reach Europe via maritime routes. Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) discussed the latest developments on 24 September 2014 when the European Commission presented its 5th annual report on immigration and asylum (issued May 2014) to the European Parliament's Civil Liberties Committee. The report stressed that the EU needed to do more on immigration, asylum and the smuggling and trafficking of human beings.

At the same meeting the European Asylum Support Office (EASO), presented its annual report on the asylum situation in the EU.

• Primary Source

European Commission: COM (2014)288: 5th Annual Report on Immigration and Asylum (2013) http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/e-library/documents/policies/immigration/general/docs/5th_annual_report_on_immigration_and_asylum_en.pdf

EASO: Annual Report Situation of Asylum in the European Union 2013 http://easo.europa.eu/wp-content/uploads/EASO-AR-final1.pdf

ESO: Background information: Europe's Deadly Borders: An Inside Look at EU's Shameful Immigration Policy http://www.europeansources.info/record/europes-deadly-borders-an-inside-look-at-eus-shameful-immigration-policy/

EASO: Press Release, 24.09.14: EASO presents reports and latest asylum trends at the European Parliament http://easo.europa.eu/wp-content/uploads/Press-release-EASO-EP-2014.pdf

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