1. MIGRANT CRISIS IN EUROPE: THE NUMBERS
140,705
WESTERN BALKANS NORDIC ROUTE
EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN
Route used by migrants crossing through Turkey
to the EU via Greece, Bulgaria or Cyprus
CENTRAL MEDITERRANEAN
Route used by migrants crossing the Mediterrane-
an Sea to Italy, Malta and Greece via Libya
502,018 est. 4,000
3,515 in 2015As of 1 Dec 2015
DEATHS AT SEA
703,374
FRONTLINE: GREECE
715,755
NUMBER OF
ASYLUM SEEKERS
in 2nd quarter of 2015, non-EU
213,230
300,000
asylum seekers who
have passed through
Greece in 2015
FRONTLINE: GERMANY
estimated to have used
Western Balkans route
from Greece
93,268
Infographic Design by Dexter Lee (Policy and Programme Executive, EU Centre)
Data Sources: Eurostat, UNHCR, Frontex, European Commission, Bild.de
DEATHS ON LAND
asylum applications
lodged in 2010 in
Germany
41,330 1.5 million
asylum applications
expected by end 2015
EU COUNTRIES WITH
THE MOST SYRIAN
ASYLUM APPLICATIONS
47,555 est. 8,000
71 bodies of Syrian migrants found in an
abandoned lorry in Austria on August 28
asylum claims
granted in 2014
ID checks reinstituted in
September 2015 along the
German-Austrian border
153,655 71,845 27,379
asylum seekers arrive
per day in Greece
The total number of migrants arriving by sea in 2015 (881,552) is around four times
higher than the total for 2014, and nearly 15 times higher than in 2013.
Migrants on the Western Balkans Route enter the EU through Slovenia, Croatia and Hungary.
Migrants on the Nordic Route attempt to enter the EU through Russia and Norway.
Figures above cover period between April 2011 and October 2015 in the EU-28.
There were 681,713 applications by Syrian asylum seekers in the EU-28 during that period.
3,500 in 2014
600 in 2013
More than a dozen migrants have died
in their attempt to cross from France to
the UK through the Channel Tunnel
Germany Sweden Hungary Austria
AT SEA
The EU-28 received 98,100 more asylum seekers in 2nd quarter of 2015
as compared to the same period in the previous year (2014).
TOTAL NUMBER
OF ASYLUM SEEKERS
in EU-28, as of September 2015
581,640
ON LAND
37,442
asylum seekers arrivals
in Greece in 2014
Jan to Oct 2015
Jan to Oct 2015

2. The European Commission has promised €3bn in cash aid to Turkey
and the chance for Ankara to make progress on long-stalled ac-
cension negotiations, in exchange for help in stemming the flow of
refugees to Europe from the Middle East.
In September 2015, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker an-
nouncedaquotaplanwhichaimsatrelocating160,000refugeesfromoverwhelmed
border states, Germany would take more than 31,000 refugees, and Spain almost
15,000. France has already agreed to take 24,000 refugees over two years and Brit-
ish Prime Minister David Cameron has confirmed Britain can take 20,000 over five
years.
Some member states, however, have not been forthcoming to the Commission’s
plans. The mandatory quotas have been rejected by the Visegrad Group – the
Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland – in a summit in September, while
countries such as Sweden have also put a hold on accepting new migrants.
AID FOR TURKEY
EXPANDING FRONTEX
DUBLIN REGULATION SCHENGEN AREA
EC’S RELOCATION PROPOSALS
The Dublin Regulation is a European Union (EU) law
that determines the EU Member State responsi-
ble to examine an application for asylum seekers
seeking international protection under the Gene-
va Convention and the EU Qualification Directive,
within the European Union.
The aim of the regulation is to ensure that asylum
seekers are processed at their point of entry, so as
to deter multiple claims and to act on approving
these claims quickly. A recast regulation entered
into force in 2013 and improves procedural safe-
guards such as the right to information, personal
interview, and a mechaism for early warning and
crisis management.
The system does have its flaws. The regulation op-
erates on the assumption the asylum laws and
practices are the same. In reality, these varies from
country to country, resulting in different treatments
of migrants across Europe. In recent months, how-
ever, Germany have suspended the regulation to
allow in Syrian asylum seekers.
The European Union will triple Frontex’s budget and capacities in or-
der for its main operation Triton to be effectively led. The dismantling
of smuggling networks is also at the core of the agenda for the EU.
The Schengen Area is the area comprising 26 Eu-
ropean countries - 22 EU nations and four mem-
bers of the EFTA - that have abolished passport
and any other type of border control at their com-
mon borders. The Schengen Area functions as a
single country for international travel purpose with
a common visa policy. Six EU countries, including
the UK and Ireland, do not participate in the area
and have their own border controls.
The recent migrant crisis has undermined the
Schengen area, as asylum seekers now enter the
EU illegally without Schengen visas. As of Novem-
ber 2015, several countries including Austria, Ger-
many, Hungary and Slovenia have re-instated in-
ternal border controls.
EU member states may re-instate these controls for
up to 10 days if this is necessary for “public policy
or national security” reasons. If the problems con-
tinue, the controls can be maintained for “renew-
able periods” of up to 20 days and for a maximum
of two months.
PRIMERS
THE EU’S RESPONSE
Icons Accreditation: Ship (CC-BY-SA 3.0 Picol), Skull (CC-BY-SA 3.0 WPZOOM), Walking Man (CC-BY-SA 3.0 Ivan Boyko), Fingerprint Icon (CC-BY-SA 3.0 Bradley Treweek)