Lockdown has reduced number of asylum seekers, but coronavirus in conflict areas ‘may push more people to EU’

The coronavirus lockdown has so far reduced the number of asylum seekers able to reach Europe, according to the European Union’s asylum agency. However, the EASO border agency warned that the pandemic could lead to a bigger wave in the future if it brings turmoil to the Middle East and North Africa.

With global travel all but grounded, the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) said that in March the bloc logged only about half as many asylum claims as in February. Illegal crossings into Europe halved from February to March, it added.

The Malta-based EASO said coronavirus outbreaks in the Middle East and North Africa could potentially cause food shortages, destabilize security and strengthen the hand of militant groups. That could lead to “increases in asylum-related migration in the medium term,” the statement said.

After more than one million asylum seekers arrived in the EU in 2015, the bloc cracked down on immigration, Brussels also provided aid to Turkey and Libya to shut down the main routes used by migrants. UN data shows that fewer than 123,000 people made it to the bloc last year and just 22,000 so far this year, Reuters said.