Luxembourg's Ministry for Foreign and European Affairs and Department of Immigration today released the figures on international protection seekers in the Grand Duchy for the month of July 2015.
Five more people asked for international protection in July 2015 than June 2015, with the total number of seekers last month standing at 106. This figure directly correlates to findings for the same month in 2013, and shows an increase of 22 people compared with the same month in 2014. So far in 2015, 650 applications for international protection were submitted, marking an increase of 114 compared with the same period in 2014 and a rise of 61 compared with 2013.
Kosovo replaced Albania as the European country with the highest applicants from May to July 2015, with the former accounting for 20 out of a total 61 European applicants and 23.7% of overall applications, followed by Albania and Serbia with 14 applicants each. Syria held a significant majority of applicants, with 20 out of a total 25 for Asian countries and 8.8% overall. Africa accounted for 20 applicants, the highest number of which (6) came from Eritrea and accounted for 4.3% of the total applications.
Concerning decisions made for the month of June 2015, the majority of requests for international protection, 44.4%, were denied. 7 applicants, accounting for 3.2%, were awarded the status conferred by the subsidiary protection and 20, comprising 12.9% were officially recognised as refugees. The number of those declared incompetent rose by five applicants to 28 as compared to the previous month, constituting 19.2% of overall applications. Figures for applicants deemed irrecovable fell by half from June to July 2015, to 8 applications and 6.1%.
Luxembourg transferred 14 applicants to relevant Member States, according to the Dublin Regulation, and in turn received 3 applicants in July 2015. A total of 93 applicants were returned to their home countries in the same month, of which 72 were voluntary and 21 were obligatory.
A recent Eurostat report found that Luxembourg accounted for 2.1 applications per 1,000 inhabitants last year, with Germany representing the highest share of EU28 asylum applications with 32.4%.
