In the first half of 2026, the EU+ received around 332,000 applications for international protection, 17% fewer than in the same period of 2025. This was the lowest first-half total since 2021 and the lowest in any non-COVID-19 year since 2019.
Afghans lodged the most applications, around 39,000, followed by Venezuelans with 33,000 and Bangladeshis with 20,000. The overall decline was driven especially by fewer Venezuelan, Syrian, Colombian, Ukrainian and Turkish applications.
France became the main EU+ destination, receiving around 69,000 applications, closely followed by Italy with 66,000. Spain and Germany each received around 55,000. Together, these four countries accounted for around three quarters of all applications. Relative to population size, Greece received the most applications, followed by Cyprus.
The EU+ recognition rate stood at 31% at first instance, remaining close to the low level recorded in 2025. With the Pact entering into application on 12 June 2026, applicants from safe countries of origin and citizenships with low EU-wide recognition rates became particularly relevant to accelerated and border procedures
Around 770,000 cases were awaiting a first instance decision at the end of June 2026, 8% fewer than a year earlier, but the remaining caseload had become older. We estimate that 1.18 million cases were pending at all instances.
